Unwanted
by madmiko
Summary: Shortly after Naruto's birth, the Third Hokage sought a way to help the jinchuriki and contacted an old ally. Now the Enjo-sha has arrived and it's time to honor the contract between the two villages. Too bad no one told Naruto about it. (Cover picture by Angietatsu on Deviantart)
1. Chapter 1

Naruto/Kagome  
I don't own the rights to these characters

Shortly after Naruto's birth, the Third Hokage sought a way to help the jinchuriki, and contacted an old ally.  
Now the Enjo-sha has arrived and it's time to honor the contract between the two villages. Too bad no one told Naruto about it.

Unwanted

Looking at the paper in her hands yet again, then glancing at another paper lying on her desk, Tsunade sighed. She looked up at Shikamaru for confirmation and he nodded. There was no mistaking the situation. The Third really had made the contract, and the foreign Lord was on his way to Konoha right now to fulfill his part of it. Thanks to the message being intercepted by the Sound before her ANBU were able to retrieve it a few days later, he could be at the gates at any minute. Sarutobi Hiruzen was a sly old dog, but this time he had kept his cards too close to his chest. Even the Elders hadn't known about the contract. While it looked like a good deal, she knew a certain somebody was not going to like it one bit.

"Shikamaru, put on some formal clothing and prepare to greet our guests at the gates. Shizune, find Naruto, get him cleaned up, and get him up here immediately. Better bring Kakashi and Yamato, too. They may be needed to restrain him while I explain his good fortune to him." This was not going to be fun.  
_

As Shikamaru approached the gate, Kotetsu jumped down to greet him. "You sure are dressed formally. What's up?"

"The village is about to receive some very important guests and I'm supposed to greet them. It's such a drag," he said as he adjusted the haori of his montsuki. It was also way too hot to be dressed like this. "I guess you haven't spotted anyone yet."

"Not a soul. So who's coming?"

"I can't comment on that, except to say they are old allies of ours from a far away land."

"Some kind of secret, classified meeting, huh? Interesting!"

"Not a word to anyone," he warned the guard.

Just then, Izumo yelled, "Hey! Where did he come from?"

Appearing on the outside of the gate was a tall shinobi dressed completely in black with long, red hair tied at the nape of his neck.

"I win!" he announced triumphantly.

Then a second strange shinobi came bounding into view. This one was also dressed in black, but he had long, silver hair.

"You cheated, you little bastard!"

Then they heard a feminine laugh ring out as a third black-clad shinobi appeared directly in front of the silver-haired one. "No, he didn't! He won, fair and square, Inuyasha."

Frowning down at the small, obviously female member of the group, the one named Inuyasha growled, "You always take his side!"

"Face it, dog-boy, I'm just faster than you."

Jumping down to stand by Kotetsu and Shikamaru, Izumo looked closer at the three strangers. The silver-haired one _did_ have dog ears!

"Don't antagonize him, Shippou. The winner should always be gracious," the woman admonished the redhead. "And so should the loser," she frowned at the one with the dog ears.

Shikamaru watched their interactions closely. They were obviously a three-man squad, traveling ahead of the man who he knew was both the kage _and_ the daimyo of their land. As he examined them, he realized none of them was wearing a forehead protector. The woman must be their leader. She was small—no taller than five feet, with long, glossy black hair tied tightly into a braid that reached down to her hips. The close-fitting, knee-length black pants and the black vest over a long-sleeved, black mesh shirt did nothing to hide a very womanly figure, which he was sure worked to her advantage in providing distraction in a fight. She was very attractive, especially with that smile and laugh of hers. However, she didn't seem to be carrying any weapons and wore no pouches for them. How very odd.

The redhead was tall and lean, and seemed to be younger than the other two. He was carrying two sai strapped to his legs, and had one pouch on his hip and several pockets in the vest he wore. He just stood there grinning at them, while the silver-haired one scowled and mumbled something under his breath. He wasn't as tall as his comrade, but he was still at least eight inches taller than the woman. All he seemed to be carrying was a sword strapped to his back. Like the woman, he didn't have any pouches. It made Shikamaru wonder briefly what kind of skills and abilities the shinobi from their land might possess. He was built along much more muscular lines than the other guy and with the set of his jaw, he looked like trouble just waiting to happen. Great. Considering how Naruto was likely to react to the news, they really didn't need a hothead on the other side of the matter, too.

"Ah! Kagome-sama! I see you caught up with them."

Shikamaru saw two more black-clad figures leap down from the trees and move to join the others. The man who spoke carried a staff and wore his hair in a short tail at the nape of his neck.

"I had to be here to witness the ending—otherwise they would have argued all day about who won," the woman laughed.

A tall woman with light brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail, carrying a huge weapon Shikamaru had never seen before across her back, came over and rested a hand on the first woman's shoulder. "So, we're here."

"Yes," she replied softly.

At that moment, at least twenty more shinobi dressed in black came out of the tree line and headed towards the gate in a diamond-shaped formation with four sets of five shinobi comprising each group. The two groups on the sides were wearing large backpacks and some were carrying boxes. In the middle walked one of the tallest men Shikamaru had ever seen, dressed in a white kimono and white sashinuki hakama, with a red and white cherry blossom crest at his neck and on the ends of the sleeves. He had spiked armor, reminiscent of a time long ago, across his chest, and his long, silver hair flowed freely down his back all the way to his knees. On his head, he wore a hat that looked very similar to the ones worn by the Five Kage. He had two swords strapped to his back.

The woman who walked a few steps behind him seemed to glide across the ground effortlessly. As impressive as the man was, she was the one who caught Shikamaru's attention the most. She was also tall, for a woman, and her slim, willowy figure looked every bit as regal and elegant as the man in front of her. She was dressed very formally in a white haori with a chihaya decorated with sakura blossoms, and red hakama. Her long, dark hair was tied back with a white ribbon.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed as he studied her. The Enjo-sha was a priestess? That actually made sense. She was very beautiful—like a porcelain doll. As she moved closer, he suddenly turned his attention back to the first kunoichi who had appeared outside the gate. Yes, they looked so much alike that they must be related, although the Enjo-sha had a sort of pale, otherworldly beauty, while the kunoichi exuded warmth and earthiness. He wondered what Naruto would think about her.

Stepping forward, he bowed in greeting. "Welcome to Konoha. I am Nara Shikamaru. Our Hokage sends her greetings. Please allow me to escort you to the Hokage Tower."

The small kunoichi stepped forward and bowed to him. "I'm Higurashi Kagome and this is Lord Sesshoumaru, Tsukikage of the Land of the Rising Sun. Do you have somewhere we could change out of our traveling clothes first?"

"Certainly. Please follow me." He signaled Izumo and Kotetsu to send a message to Lady Tsunade that the guests had arrived. Not that they would need to, considering the amount of attention the group was drawing as they walked through the streets of Konoha like a small army. Shikamaru almost felt like he was leading a parade.

The man with the staff introduced himself as Miroku and walked alongside him, while the woman whose name was Kagome fell back and walked beside Lord Sesshoumaru. He could see the Lord was expertly assessing everything about the village, from the way the streets were laid out, to the various ANBU posts, to its merchants and the trade available. The young woman at his side pointed out a few stands and shops that seemed to catch her eye and the stoic Tsukikage raised a brow at her enthusiasm. Her cheeks pinkened and she ducked her head a bit sheepishly. Then he saw the man stop and put a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at him, covering his hand with one of hers, and nodded. Shikamaru could easily see there was more to their relationship than simply a leader and his subordinate. She smiled and they moved on.

In contrast to the kunoichi's interest in the village, the Enjo-sha barely glanced at either side of the street. She seemed a bit put out by the people going about their daily business. Shikamaru frowned to himself and wondered if she had been trained in isolation or if she was just a bit of a snob. Whatever the case, if she was going to fulfill the purpose she was here for, she would have to get over it. Of course, she could just be nervous.

"My good man, your village seems to have a sizeable civilian population. Could you tell me what the male to female ratio is?"

"I'm not really sure, but Lady Tsunade's personal assistant, Shizune, will have access to that kind of information.

"Is Shizune an attractive, single lady?"

"Miroku," the tall kunoichi growled at him.

"Just gathering information, Sango-chan," he grinned.

"Yeah, well, the layout of this place is ridiculous," the silver-haired shinobi grumbled. "I feel like we've been going in circles when that damn tower was straight ahead of us."

"It's obviously a deliberate part of the security here. Clever, actually," the tall redhead replied. "By the way, you can call me Shippou. I may just stay here for a while."

"No, you won't! She doesn't need you hanging around making a nuisance of yourself."

"You're just mad because of the whole thing. Don't you go making things difficult for her!"

"Ahem," Miroku cleared his throat and stepped in between the two. "Don't forget where we are. Behave yourselves."

Both of them glanced back and saw the stern look on the Tsukikage's face. They quickly shut up and moved on.

As they approached the tower, Shikamaru stopped and gestured to two buildings on the right. "These are the guest apartments where you will be staying during your visit. The key to each apartment is inside on the desk. Lord Sesshoumaru, your accommodations, and those of the Enjo-sha, are inside the Hokage Tower. I'll take you there and then return here to escort the others when you're ready."

"That is acceptable." Dismissing the twenty shinobi making up his guard with a slight nod of his head, he moved up beside the guide, while the redhead and the dog-eared man collected a few boxes from the others.

Shikamaru was a little surprised the other five shinobi were still accompanying them and hoped Shizune had enough rooms ready for them. He was glad to turn them over to her for a while. This whole thing was very troublesome. And he knew it was only going to get worse.  
_

Twenty minutes later, he escorted the rest of the shinobi into the tower where they met up with the Tsukikage. Lord Sesshoumaru directed ten of them to stand guard on the ground floor while the others were to follow them to the floor where the meeting would be held. He was now wearing a montsuki, complete with five kamon, while Miroku appeared to be wearing a monk's robe. Interesting. The other two were still dressed in their shinobi outfits. They waited for the Enjo-sha to come out of her room. The kunoichi named Sango stepped out first, followed by the Enjo-sha. Shikamaru had thought she was going to change clothes, also, but she was still wearing the priestess haori, chihaya, and hakamas. The acknowledged genius of the Leaf Village realized his mistake when the other kunoichi stepped into the hallway and Lord Sesshoumaru walked over and nodded his approval. The one who had introduced herself as Higurashi Kagome was wearing a sapphire blue furisode decorated with red, pink, and white cherry blossoms. The brilliant shade of blue was matched by her eyes, which were outlined in kohl, emphasizing their striking beauty and making them seem more exotic. The sides of her hair were pulled up with white hair combs and then twisted and braided in intricate patterns at the crown of her head, while the rest of her hair spilled down her back in shiny, inky waves. She smiled a bit nervously as she looked around at everyone.

"I guess we should go. I felt him arrive just a few minutes ago."

Shikamaru blinked at that. Naruto had just arrived? He had thought Lady Tsunade would have broken the news to him at least an hour ago. This was really troublesome. And the Enjo-sha—the _real_ Enjo-sha- had sensed and recognized his chakra? He was a bit relieved this girl had turned out to be the one instead of the priestess. He believed she had a better chance of getting along with the knucklehead than the one with the haughty attitude.

When they reached the top floor, Lord Sesshoumaru instructed the remaining ten members of his guard to spread out. Shikamaru knocked and opened the door to the Hokage's office where the meeting would take place. And immediately wished he hadn't. As the Tsukikage stepped over the threshold with the Enjo-sha right behind him, they heard an angry voice yelling.

"This is _bullshit! _I don't care _who_ she is or _where_ she's from! I'm not marrying her!"

End Chapter One


	2. Chapter 2

_Last time_:  
When they reached the top floor, Lord Sesshoumaru instructed the remaining ten members of his guard to spread out. Shikamaru knocked and opened the door to the Hokage's office where the meeting would take place. And immediately wished he hadn't. As the Tsukikage stepped over the threshold with the Enjo-sha right behind him, they heard an angry voice yelling.

"This is _bullshit! _I don't care _who_ she is or _where_ she's from! I'm not marrying her!"

Unwanted Chapter 2

Captain Yamato had Naruto pinned to the floor and restrained by several wooden arms. Lady Tsunade was standing over him with her finger pointed at his face.

"It's for your own good, you idiot!"

"Ahem," Shikamaru cleared his throat loudly. He was almost afraid to turn around and see the looks on their visitors' faces. "The Tsukikage and the Enjo-sha from the Land of the Rising Sun are here."

Lady Tsunade's eyes widened and she spun around and took in a quick breath. _Shit! We needed more time!_ But as she looked at the impassive face of the great Lord Sesshoumaru, she knew they were out of time and everything had just gone to hell. His features betrayed no sign of emotion at all, but his amber eyes had taken on a red tint. Kakashi, who had been leaning against the wall, was by her side in a flash. That wasn't the Sharingan taking over the man's eyes. It was something darker and much more sinister.

Inuyasha and Shippou ran into the room and stood in front of Kagome.

"What the hell is this?" the dog-eared shinobi demanded as he reached for his sword. "After all she's done to honor that fucking contract, you think you can insult her, you piece of shit?!"

Kagome grabbed his arm to stop him from drawing his sword. He looked back at her and saw how the color had drained from her face. She was staring at the jinchuriki, who had stopped struggling against his bonds to look at the unexpected group of strangers. Her eyes were suspiciously bright and her bottom lip quivered a bit as she asked, "He didn't know?"

Hearing the uncertainty and sadness in her voice, Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes turned a darker shade of red, but he merely glanced at Miroku and Sango, standing right outside the door with Kikyou, then at Inuyasha and Shippou.

"Go."

Shippou grabbed Kagome around the waist and picked her up as he and Inuyasha headed for the door, but she pulled out of his arms. The other three were already gone. "No. That wasn't an intentional insult. We walked in on their conversation." She stepped closer to Lord Sesshoumaru and said softly, "You can let it go."

Long seconds passed as the two of them stared at each other, blue eyes pleading with angry red ones. Then the Tsukikage raised his eyes and looked around the room, his gaze lingering on Naruto for a moment. "We will return in one hour." Then they were gone.

Shikamaru let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. There was no doubt in his mind that if she had left the room when Lord Sesshoumaru said "Go," they would all be dead now. He didn't know what kind of power the Tsukikage had been exuding, but he hoped he never felt anything like it again. It was like the very air around him had heated up and was pressing heavily against his skin, smothering him while millions of poisoned needles stabbed him viciously. He would tie Naruto up and sign his name to the wedding certificate himself if he had to.

Two ANBU immediately appeared, but the Hokage waved them off as she slumped down in the chair where she had quickly taken a seat because her legs felt a little shaky. She knew enough about Lord Sesshoumaru from the notes the Third Hokage had included in the file with the contract _and_ from what she had just felt to know it wouldn't do much good to get them involved. The only thing that would help would be to get Naruto to agree. And he **_was_** going to agree, damn him!

_"Now_ are you ready to listen to what Lady Tsunade is saying?" Kakashi asked.

"Who the hell _was_ that guy? And what kind of chakra was that?"

"Someone who makes a much better ally than an enemy," Captain Yamato told him as he released his restraints. "And that wasn't chakra as we know it. That was … something else."

"Naruto, I know this is all coming as a big shock to you—it was a shock to me, too. Nobody knew the Third Hokage had done this. But you know he always had your best interests at heart. He thought he was doing you a favor," Tsunade assured him.

"I can do without that kind of favor! You know I promised Sakura that I would bring Sasuke back. I gave her my word—that's _my_ contract. If the old man ordered a bride, then he should have married her himself."

Kakashi blinked, then chuckled at that. _This kid._ "Did you even look at her? She was quite lovely."

"I don't care what she looks like!"

Yamato sighed. The boy simply was not going to be reasonable. And he didn't think any of them were going to fare very well against the Tsukikage. He wondered if they should be summoning _all_ of the ANBU right now.

There was a knock at the door, then Shizune entered. "One of the visitors has requested an audience with you. And, um, well … you might want to know that the ANBU are a bit anxious about the way our guests have scattered and are now surrounding the tower from various vantage points."

_That's just great. This was supposed to be a celebratory meeting with an __**ally**__ and instead we are under siege, all due to a few thoughtless words. _ She couldn't put the blame all on Naruto, though. She would have been angry, too, if someone suddenly told her she had to marry a stranger. If only they had more time to prepare him. The kid was doing his best to become stronger, not just for himself, but for everybody. She hoped this Enjo-sha really would prove to be a help to him. "Show the visitor in."

Shizune opened the door and beckoned the monk shinobi inside. "This is Miroku. He would like to represent the Enjo-sha's interests if any negotiations are necessary."

"I get the feeling Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't negotiate very often," Lady Tsunade said with a wry smile.

"Quite right," Miroku grinned. _But the negotiations are already over. The jinchuriki and everybody else in the near vicinity already received a reprieve. I just hope the guy is smart enough to accept the new terms._ He bowed and glanced over at a small table with some chairs around it. "Would you mind if I take a seat? We have been traveling for quite some time."

"Please do." Lady Tsunade, Kakashi and Captain Yamato all sat down at the table, too. "Shikamaru. Shizune. You two should stay for this." She indicated some other chairs, which they carried over and sat down in.

Naruto just stood there and scratched the back of his head. "You all sure are being polite considering it felt like that one guy was ready to kill us a few minutes ago."

"Ah, but he didn't!" Miroku chuckled. "Fortunately, your bride realized you didn't have previous knowledge of the contract, and she sympathized with your situation."

"She's not my bride! " Seeing the dark glares from everyone else in the room, Naruto tried to speak calmly. "Look, it's nothing against her. But I don't even _know_ her, and I have way too much I have to do right now to have to mess with this kind of crap. There's Sasuke, and the Akatsuki, and I'm just wasting time here when I need to be training. So, thanks, but no thanks. She can go back to her own country."

"Naruto!"

"Perhaps I should tell you a little about the tradition of the Enjo-sha, and your bride, in particular, to help you understand the situation we are all in now." Miroku strummed his fingers along the top of the table for a minute before leaning back in his chair. "Did you know that our village is famous, historically, for producing the Enjo-sha, due to the, shall we say, _unique _mix of talents and skills found in our population? Ours is a land where humans and demons and every other type of creature you can imagine live side by side-not always in harmony, and not always equally, but we all know you could run into absolutely anyone or anything on any given day. We have people who can wield reiki or youki more powerful than any chakra. And we have people who can access these special forms of ki _and_ control chakra as well. This is why we can train an Enjo-sha for practically anyone who needs one. An Enjo-sha is a very special kind of bride—highly sought after, much desired, and well-worth whatever price is set. She is usually trained from a very early age in a set of skills customized specifically in order to be the "helpmate" her intended needs. Throughout history, we have provided Enjo-sha for emperors and samurai, for heroes and conquerors, for philosophers and poets, for explorers wishing to discover and settle new lands, for demon lords and minor kami, and yes, even for two of the previous jinchuriki right here in your Five Great Nations.

In your case, as a jinchuriki, you need help controlling your bijuu's chakra. You need an Enjo-sha with reiki, who is a priestess. Kagome is the most powerful priestess born in our land in the last thousand years, although we didn't know that until four years ago when she was summoned to complete a sacred quest. Before that, her older half-sister, Kikyou, who was recognized from birth to be a great priestess, was chosen to be raised as the Enjo-sha.

Three years ago, after Kagome's quest was over, Lord Sesshoumaru knew she was meant to be the Enjo-sha, but she had received no training at all as a priestess. Instead, she had been trained as a shinobi because her father cast her out of their family shrine after her mother died and left her to earn her own way in the world so he could concentrate his fortune and energies on his older daughter, who was bringing him much prestige as the Enjo-sha. Kagome caught Lord Sesshoumaru's attention at an early age because she was always volunteering for the most dangerous missions so she could earn enough money to send to her father in the hopes that he would welcome her back. He never did, and he passed away before she was named the Enjo-sha. But she earned the respect of Lord Sesshoumaru through her determination and efforts to constantly prove herself worthy, and she made many friends who became like a family to her while she was on her quest, and I am proud to be one of them."

The monk fell silent for a minute, wondering if he was revealing too much. After all, it wasn't his story to tell, but he felt a need to make sure the jinchuriki knew how serious an insult he had dealt her. So, he continued, "Despite her undeniable spiritual powers, her lack of training as a priestess was a serious problem because of the high standards expected of the Enjo-sha. The contract called for her to be brought here to be the jinchuriki's bride at this specific time. So, she only had three years to prepare when most Enjo-sha have at least fifteen years of training since most are sent off to be married when they turn eighteen. Your Third Hokage wanted your bride to be sent earlier than that because he believed you would need her now. To be perfectly honest, he originally requested she be sent when you turned thirteen, but Lord Sesshoumaru refused to marry off an Enjo-sha to 'someone still wet behind the ears.' Anyway, he determined the best course for her was to seek out and petition three legendary masters and to spend a year training with each of them.

First, she sought out Hitomiko, a famous priestess from our recent past who trained her in the art of kyudo. The power of her hamaya is really quite incredible. More importantly, she taught her how to see with her heart's eye instead of merely seeing the physical world around her. Next, she went to the foot of Mt. Hakurei, which is protected by a barrier that only the most pure individuals can pass through. She climbed the mountain and sought out Hakushin, a little-known monk who had attempted to become a living Buddha during his lifetime. He trained her in barriers and seals. Finally, she traveled to the ruins of the legendary taijiya village to find Midoriko's cave, where she petitioned her spirit for a month before she appeared to her. Midoriko is known in our country to be the greatest warrior priestess of all time. It was Midoriko who had summoned Kagome for her quest. At first, she refused to train her because she said one of Kagome's greatest spiritual strengths was relying on her heart and not her training. However, after another month, when Kagome refused to leave the cave and leave her in peace, she finally agreed to work with her. She can be very stubborn when she gets her mind set on something," the monk chuckled.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying she trained with _dead people?_" the blond jinchuriki asked incredulously.

"Well … yes. In order to receive the optimal level of training in the amount of time she had, she had to seek out masters who were the very best. While Kagome was away, Lord Sesshoumaru sent some spies into the Five Great Nations to better ascertain the jinchuriki's specific needs. When they reported back on the conditions here and the particular difficulties you were facing, with the attack on your village and the death of the Third Hokage, his resolve that she was indeed the one who should come here for you increased. He realized that her earlier training as a shinobi would also be a great asset because in addition to dealing with the bijuu within, you need protection from both your enemies who want to kill you and from those who would use you for your power."

"I don't need protection—especially not from a little girl like her, even if she _did_ train with dead people!"

While the others inwardly groaned at his outburst, Miroku started laughing. "Don't be fooled by her size or her good nature. That has been the downfall of many of her enemies. Kagome can be as fierce as Lord Sesshoumaru is emotionless."

Getting to his feet and walking over to Naruto, he said quietly, "I will only tell you one more thing. That is your clan symbol, is it not?" he asked, indicating the swirl within a circle on his jacket. At his nod, Miroku continued, "She bears that mark. Not every Enjo-sha has something like that identifying her as the one, so no one thought anything about the fact that Kikyou bears no markings. However, both of the Enjo-sha for former jinchuriki were born with their intended's clan symbol on their bodies. If anyone had known Kagome was born with it … But, we didn't know until she had already embarked on her quest.

I mentioned her father earlier. Her mother was the second wife of Higurashi Junichiro, and she was from another land. She didn't know much about the Enjo-sha and the significance of the mark on her baby, so she had never mentioned it to anyone. Junichiro had dearly loved his first wife and daughter and only re-married to provide a mother for Kikyou. He was very neglectful of his second wife and paid no attention at all to Kagome, so he didn't know she had it. Kikyou, on the other hand, we suspect _did_ know her sister possessed the mark, but kept silent as she wanted to hold onto the prestige of being the Enjo-sha—until she decided she didn't want the life and responsibilities that came with it and wanted what her sister had instead. But, that's another story.

The long and short of it is your Third Hokage reached out to Lord Sesshoumaru when you were made a jinchuriki and requested an Enjo-sha for you. A contract was signed. I told you that an Enjo-sha is a highly-desired, much-sought bride. She works hard and makes many sacrifices to become the perfect helpmate for her intended. No one has ever sent one _back to her own country._ Considering the mark she bears, I think there is no doubt that Kagome _is_ your bride. So, do you understand how great an insult it is to reject her? It is not just an insult to her, but also to her masters, to Lord Sesshoumaru, and to our village."

Naruto sighed and put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the floor. "I don't want to insult anyone. She sounds great and all that, but I still don't want to marry her—I don't want to marry _anyone_ right now."

"Well, once again, fortunately for you, Kagome made a special request of Lord Sesshoumaru and you don't have to get married _right now._ Since you were previously unaware of the contract, she proposed you have a period of time to get used to the idea and to get to know one another—an engagement period, if you will. The Tsukikage was willing to give you one week."

"A week?!"

Miroku held up a hand to silence him. "Kagome requested six months. He allowed one month. She insisted on four. Your final verdict is you have three months before the wedding. Or, you have three months until the contract is deemed broken." Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Lady Tsunade. "Here is their agreement, for your eyes only, Lady Hokage."

Lady Tsunade looked at the statement and the two signatures. Her brows raised in surprise. The monk wasn't telling Naruto everything. "Lord Sesshoumaru agreed to this?"

"Reluctantly. I should tell you he is very fond of Kagome. He will honor this agreement to the letter, but I would not care to guess what else he might do."

"Please extend our thanks to him. We will be ready to greet him properly when the hour is up."

"Thank you, my lady," Miroku said with a bow. Then he left.

"So … I don't have to get married?"

"You idiot! Weren't you paying attention?" Lady Tsunade grabbed him by his jacket and shook him. "Lord Sesshoumaru agreed to give you three months to get to know the girl before the wedding."

"I heard that, but he also said or until the contract is broken or something like that. So, we can break the contract, right?"

Kakashi shook his head in disbelief while Captain Yamato just stared at him with his mouth open. Shikamaru sighed and walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Naruto, if we break that contract, our village is subject to a penalty—in this case, it looks like the penalty may be our lives. After listening to what Miroku told us about their land, and the power we felt from him earlier, I am inclined to believe the Tsukikage is a demon. The guy with the dog ears probably is, too. For all we know, _all_ of the shinobi with him could be demons."

"I think you may be correct, Shikamaru. We would be facing a lot more than just chakra if we had to fight him, and I really don't want to find out what he's capable of. However, the good news is the agreement Miroku handed me states that Lord Sesshoumaru will not demand that Naruto pay the honor price by committing seppuku, as breaking a contract of this nature would call for, if he doesn't abide by the contract when the three months is up. And he specifically said he won't kill the rest of us, either. The Enjo-sha insisted on those stipulations," the Hokage informed them with a wry smile. "I guess this is our lucky day."

"So … I don't have to get married?"

"Nar-u-to! Just because he isn't going to make you kill yourself, or kill you and the rest of us with his own hands, doesn't mean we can break the contract! A price would have to be paid. Honor demands it. The girl spent years training-with dead people, no less-just so she could help you. The Tsukikage himself pronounced her to be the Enjo-sha after another girl was originally chosen because he deemed her more capable and more worthy of the position. She left her country to come live here with you. It really would be a tremendous insult to reject her. Don't you see that?"

"Damn it! I don't want her or her help. I didn't ask for it."

Tsunade sighed in exasperation. _If they were to walk through the door again and hear that…_

"The Third Hokage asked for it _for you_," Kakashi told him firmly. "He thought it would be good for you and good for the village. I'm sure he thought he would be able to make you see that before the time came. It is _his honor,_ and the honor of our village that would be forfeit if we break the contract." The copy nin took a deep breath. He knew a lot about honor and its loss. Even a mistaken belief in what is honorable and what is not could cost a person dearly. It had broken his father. "Just give the girl a chance. She put aside her own pride and stuck her neck out to save yours just now. The least you can do is be polite. Think of it as a three-month mission."

"An S-ranked mission," Tsunade chimed in.

Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at them through lowered eyelids. "Well, okay. But if I can figure out a way not to marry her, then I'm still not gonna do it."  
_+_

"I don't know why she stopped him! The bastard had it coming!"

Shippou watched Inuyasha continue to pace around the room they had been given to stay in while in Konoha, yelling and cursing and occasionally kicking the furniture. "I suppose she thought it might ruin the mood on her wedding night if the groom was dead."

"Shut up! That isn't funny!"

"I wonder if she would need to perform a whole 'raise the dead' spell or if just part of one would work enough so he could consummate the marriage, if you know what I mean."

"You're sick!"

"You would have wanted Sesshoumaru to kill him even if he had thrown himself at her feet and declared his undying love."

"Well, he sure as hell didn't do that," grumbled the hanyou.

"He didn't know. Kagome was right to give him some time to get used to the idea."

"Yeah, like having a beautiful, powerful woman tossed in your lap is so terrible."

"What did you just say?" Shippou stuck a finger in his ear to clean it. "I don't think I heard you right. Maybe I should get Kagome in here to hear this because I swear it sounded like you said she was beautiful."

"Sesshoumaru should have told _you_ to stay there to be slaughtered with the rest of them."

"Seriously, though, don't you think you would have reacted the same way if you got called to Sesshoumaru's office and he told you that you had to marry some strange girl? Oh wait. You _did_ react the same way—and it was the _same girl!_"

"_**SHUT UP!**__"_

Really, it struck Shippou as some kind of divine karma for Inuyasha to be so angry on Kagome's behalf this time, if only it weren't for the fact that she had been hurt again. Honestly, what was with these guys that they didn't appreciate their extreme good fortune?

"All right," the kitsune stood and started for the door. "We should see if he wants us to accompany them back. I kind of doubt it, though, since it was your reaction that set everything off."  
_+_

"Are you sure you're ready?" Sango asked.

"I'm fine," Kagome answered softly. She looked at herself in the mirror again to make sure her eyes weren't still red and puffy. The kohl outlining them had been smudged by the few tears she had been unable to prevent from falling, so she had washed it all off. She had also changed out of the elegant furisode and asked Sango to help her take her hair down. There was nothing to celebrate today.

A small, bitter laugh escaped her as she continued to look in the mirror. Even as the Enjo-sha she was not wanted. She had thought her husband was looking forward to her arrival. She didn't expect him to fall in love with her at first sight, but she had hoped that he would look at her favorably and be eager to get to know her. Obviously, she didn't love him, either, since she didn't know him, but she wanted to. She had imagined he would be anxious at their first meeting—not that he would have to be restrained to even be there. Another laugh escaped her.

"Kagome?"

She waved off Sango's worried expression. "Think he will like me any better now?" She indicated the red shorts and white tank top she was wearing.

Sango frowned at her. "I think he will be more polite, but it will take time for him to get used to the idea that he's getting married, so he may be a bit grumpy. Men are like that. It has nothing to do with whether or not he likes you, because of course he will like you when he gets to know you."

Kagome hugged her friend tightly. "That's why I love you, Sango-chan. You always know what I am really asking, and you always give me a straight answer."

The tall woman hugged her back and smiled. "And when he bothers to take a good look at you, he will think you're beautiful, even in casual clothing." Stepping back to look at her again, she added, "Yes, this might actually be better because he won't be intimidated by your elegance. He wasn't dressed formally, probably because he had no idea what was happening."

A knock at the door signaled it was time for Kagome to go face her future husband again. "We're leaving, Kikyou. Are you going to stay here?"

"There's no reason for me to be present, is there?"

"I suppose not." Moral support was not her strong point.

"Hello, ladies. There's something different about you, Kagome-sama. Let me guess, new underwear?" Miroku said with a wink.

"Very funny. No sense in trying to dazzle him now, is there?" she smiled back at him.

"Obviously, the poor lad was so overcome by your beauty that he started babbling like an idiot. Hopefully, he has regained his senses now. Lord Sesshoumaru is having a few words with Lady Tsunade in private. Fortunately, he seems to have calmed a bit. Thank you for that, by the way. Otherwise, we would probably be on our way back home right now, with every shinobi in the Five Great Nations on our tails."

"Hmph," Sango snorted. "There would be considerably less of them than there are now."

"Ah, Sango, my love, you are quite right," he conceded with a grin. "And of course, most of the other nations would have upheld Lord Sesshoumaru's right to mete out justice anyway."

"Shhhh! I'm sure I'm going to have their ANBU shadowing me wherever I go for the next three months, as it is. No need to rile them up any more than necessary."

"Sorry about that, Kagome-sama. I understand that for some people, having a constant audience could be a hindrance when one is trying to seduce one's husband."

"Miroku!"

"Houshi-sama, you are not helping."

"You can always try to imagine all of them are naked."

"Not helping!"

The monk smiled to himself. He would much rather see a slight blush on her face than anxiety or sadness.

Spotting Shikamaru waiting outside the door to the office, Miroku grinned at him. "I'll bet you'd rather face ten hungry bears than have to open that door for us again."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of the Leaf nin's mouth. _He's not wrong._  
_

End Chapter Two


	3. Chapter 3

_Last time:_  
The monk smiled to himself. He would much rather see a slight blush on her face than anxiety or sadness.

Spotting Shikamaru waiting outside the door to the office, Miroku grinned at him. "I'll bet you'd rather face ten hungry bears than have to open that door for us again."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of the Leaf nin's mouth. _He's not wrong._

Unwanted Chapter Three

Shikamaru knocked on the door, then entered the room, followed by Kagome. Miroku and Sango came in and stood right behind her. Lord Sesshoumaru walked up to her and looked at her closely. He lifted a brow slightly at her choice of clothing and allowed a small smirk to grace his lips when she grinned at him. She could be quite cheeky when the occasion warranted it, and under the circumstances, he agreed with her. The pomp and circumstance the meeting called for had flown right out the window, so her change into such casual clothing was a subtle rebuke for their lack of reception, and her slight mockery of her status as a priestess, with the white top and red shorts, was also a subtle reminder of who she was and why she was here. He was sure her wit would fly over the head of the jinchuriki, who was still wrapped up in his anger over the situation, even though he had calmed, but he knew the Hokage would understand her message. Kagome might have been willing to ignore the insult, in spite of having her own hopes and expectations dashed, and to make an extremely generous offer to her intended to smooth things over, but she was planning to show him she was worthy of being his helpmate.

He had been a tiny bit mollified when the Hokage had explained that no one had known about the contract until they received his message earlier today. He had known the Third Hokage was a shrewd and suspicious leader, but he hadn't realized he was facing so much danger from within his own village. Considering the man had been slain by his former student, perhaps he had been right to keep this deal under wraps. Many people throughout the Five Great Nations would not want the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed beast to receive the help of an Enjo-sha. He had cautioned Lady Tsunade that she may need to provide extra security for Kagome until the wedding took place. Their lack of knowledge about the contract didn't completely excuse the insult to her, but he was willing to give the jinchuriki a little leeway for Kagome's sake. She, on the other hand, was willing to give far too much. He never would have agreed to her terms if he didn't believe the boy would not only agree to honor the contract, but would most likely fall in love with her before the three months were up.

His decision to name her as the Enjo-sha over Kikyou had been a difficult one, knowing it meant she would be living in a land far from her home and friends when she had finally made a place for herself, but his honor demanded he acknowledge who she truly was. He certainly wasn't going to make such a personal sacrifice and give away one of the few people he felt true affection for and then let her be destroyed by someone's foolishness. He had promised not to kill the boy, but there were many things worse than death.

Even after such a disastrous initial meeting, he could see the hope shining in her eyes as she glanced around the room, trying to get a glimpse of the one who was her intended. Lady Tsunade had told him a bit about his personal history, and the boy had not lived an easy life. He knew he was weighed down with expectations and responsibilities that he had taken on for himself, as well as those of the entire village as the weapon they had resented for so long. It seemed that both of them were extremely stubborn, determined people, and he hoped they would be able to form a good partnership instead of bumping heads all the time. Though if he were completely truthful with himself, his real fear was that Kagome would try too hard to be someone she thinks he would _want _instead of asserting herself as someone he _needs._ For as long as he had known her, she had struggled to make those around her acknowledge her for who she was, nothing more and nothing less. Being named the Enjo-sha had thrown her since she had already established herself as a shinobi and had other plans for her future. He was partially to blame for that. But she had accepted the responsibility and strove to prove herself again. It had been Midoriko who had assured her she was still the person she had always been. He just hoped her soon-to-be husband would be able to see past his anger and resentment and appreciate her.

Sesshoumaru took her hand and placed it on his arm before turning to face the others in the room. "Lady Tsunade, allow me to present Higurashi Kagome, the Enjo-sha."

"Lady Hokage," Kagome bowed in greeting.

Tsunade acknowledged Kagome's greeting with a slight bow of her own before grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him forward to stand beside her. "And this is Uzumaki Naruto." She squeezed his arm until he executed a quick bow, which Kagome returned.

"Is this the same girl?" Naruto asked. He hadn't really paid any attention to the Enjo-sha before, but he could have sworn she had been kind of old-fashioned-looking, all fancy and doll-like, while this girl looked … normal.

"Naruto!" the Hokage hissed.

Kagome laughed. "I'm afraid so. I hope you don't mind, but I had dressed for a reception, not a rejection. It's much easier to get bloodstains out of casual clothing than silk." She winked at him.

Kakashi choked back a laugh, while Naruto just gaped at her for a few seconds before he caught on to the fact that she was joking with him. As he stared at her, he realized his sensei had been right. She _was_ pretty. And he wouldn't call her a "little girl" again after seeing her in these form-fitting clothes. She might be small, but she sure wasn't built like a kid. That didn't mean he wanted to marry her, though.

"So, now that the introductions have finally been made, why don't you give her a tour of the village?" Lady Tsunade suggested.

A small groan escaped Naruto's throat before he caught himself. "Fine. Whatever."

"What would you normally be doing right now?" Kagome asked him.

"Training. I'm working on something new."

"Would you rather return to that? Because if you don't mind a spectator, I am very interested in seeing your training methods and some of the training grounds available."

"Really? Because I seriously need to get back to it. How about it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I suppose we could spend a couple more hours working at it today. Yamato?"

Now it was Yamato's turn to groan. He had been glad for the break. At least, he was until everything went sideways earlier. "Okay," he said with a sigh.

"All right, but then you take her out for dinner, and I mean it, Naruto."

"Yeah, yeah." And he took off out the door.

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, then at Miroku and Sango. She shrugged her shoulders and took off after him.

"I guess that's our cue to leave, also. Good day," Kakashi and Yamato bowed and left.

"Naruto's manners aren't the best, but he has a good heart," Tsunade assured them. "Shizune will be happy to show you around our village, and I hope you will join me for dinner. Shall we say, six o'clock?"

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru agreed with a slight bow. He nodded at Miroku and Sango. "Send them and meet us downstairs." Then he waited for Shizune to escort him out of the office.

Lady Tsunade breathed out a sigh of relief. It seemed like everything had been smoothed over. "Shikamaru, make sure that knucklehead takes her out for dinner."

"People will be asking about her."

"I know. And Lord Sesshoumaru had a point when he said she would need extra security during this engagement period. Waiting to hold the wedding places her in significant danger. He will be leaving tomorrow to conduct business in some of the other lands while they are here in our country, and plans to return in exactly three months. I know he will leave a couple of his men here to guard her, but her safety will be _our_ responsibility. If the other villages learn that we have an Enjo-sha here for the nine tails' jinchuriki, and that they didn't get married as soon as she arrived, they may very well try to kidnap her to marry her to someone else before the wedding takes place. I am particularly concerned about the Akatsuki right now, and they would certainly be interested in having someone with her skills since they are capturing jinchuriki. Then there's Orochimaru. We know that he may already know about her, since it was Sound nin who intercepted Lord Sesshoumaru's message to us before our ANBU retrieved it."

"So, what do we tell people about her?"

"Just say she's Naruto's fiancé and don't mention where she is from. We don't want anyone figuring out she is an Enjo-sha. I'm sure you noticed their shinobi don't wear forehead protectors proclaiming which village or land their allegiance is to. So, they will be traveling incognito while they are in our country. Hopefully, we can keep this whole thing quiet until everything is settled. It's really too bad we couldn't just hold the wedding tomorrow."

...

Kagome took in a deep breath and slowly let it out when she saw the immense waterfall. There was no way it was natural, but it was beautiful and impressive, nonetheless. She assumed he must be practicing some type of water technique. "Do you mind telling me what you're working on?"

"Kakashi-sensei can explain it better than I can, but I'm trying to cut through the waterfall to stop its flow," the blond told her excitedly while removing his jacket and the mesh shirt underneath.

Her cheeks turned pink at the sight of his bare chest, but she smiled at the way his sky blue eyes were sparkling. Now that he was out of the Hokage's office, he seemed much happier—very enthusiastic and energetic. _Nice to know it was just the thought of marrying me that made him so sullen and angry. And he's really quite good-looking. Those eyes of his …_

"Hurry up, Captain Yamato!

"All right. Just give me a minute."

Kagome watched as one of older shinobi leaned back against a tree and pulled out a book to read, while the other one sat down and executed Wood Release: Foo Dog Heads, causing nine wooden pillars to rise from the ground and surround him, with flames springing to life at the top of each of them. Then he held out his arm in Naruto's direction. "Go ahead."

She blinked in surprise when Naruto leaped up on the bridge stretched across in front of the waterfall and summoned dozens of shadow clones, who all turned and began pressing against the water. "Amazing! How many shadow clones can he create?"

"I'm really not sure. I've heard he has had as many as a thousand before," Kakashi answered, surreptitiously watching her watch his student.

"So many! He must have an incredible amount of chakra because he definitely isn't using the nine-tailed beast's chakra. I take it this isn't a normal method of training then, unless the people of Konoha have some secret fountain of chakra they drink from?"

A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as the copy nin regarded her carefully. So far, he rather liked her. She was clever in a feisty kind of way. He wondered if Naruto had even contemplated the possibility of accepting her yet. "Not that I am aware of, but then again, obviously our superiors do keep some secrets from us."

She laughed at that, and he nodded to himself in approval. She wasn't going to hold a grudge against Naruto or the village for the way things had turned out. "He has to work to suppress the nine tails when he expends this much of his own chakra. That's why he needs Ten—er, Captain Yamato here to help suppress it if it tries to take over."

"I can help with that. What kind of seal is on the nine tails?"

"It's an Eight Trigrams Seal."

"Hmmm. Two Four Symbols Seals with some space between them to allow some of the bijuu's chakra to leak through when he needs it? That makes sense, but it must have made things very difficult when he was first learning to control chakra. Most of his own would have been used up just trying to maintain control of the bijuu."

The girl definitely understands some of the difficulties a jinchuriki faces. "Yes. Naruto had a lot of trouble with that, especially since he didn't know he had the nine tails inside him until he was nearly through the Academy. He struggled to create even one shadow clone back then."

Kagome's brow furrowed as she frowned. _It sounds like other people have been keeping him in the dark about major, fundamental aspects of his life, and I'm just one more thing that's being thrust upon him that he's supposed to just shut up and accept. He may end up accepting me, but then he might resent me for being forced on him. Everyone needs to feel like they have some control over their own lives._ She sighed and sat down to watch him.

"He said he was trying to cut through the flow of the waterfall. What technique is he working on?"

"He is working on adding a nature transformation to a shape transformation. He has mastered a jutsu that was developed by our Fourth Hokage, which is very powerful, but he had always hoped to add a shape transformation to it."

"So, Naruto is trying to complete something the Fourth Hokage was unable to do? That's extremely ambitious of him. And he seems to feel he needs to do this as quickly as possible." She didn't ask directly, but Kakashi could feel her questioning gaze on him.

"Naruto has two goals. He wants to be Hokage someday, but his more immediate goal is to bring his friend and former teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, back to the Leaf Village. The last time they met, Sasuke was too strong for Naruto to be able to force him to come back. And Sasuke will only be swayed when Naruto can beat him, thus proving Naruto's way of working to gain strength while maintaining allegiance to the village is the better way," Kakashi explained. "Right now, he believes he can only get stronger by cutting all ties with anyone he ever cared about—he thinks those feelings lead to weakness."

"Uchiha Sasuke. The one survivor of the Uchiha Massacre."

"I see your Tsukikage kept informed of events here over the years."

"Yes. He has talked to me about Konoha's history, major events, and some of the clan dynamics. He found out about Naruto's goal to become Hokage. That's why he had me spend the last two months at home working with his personal assistant to oversee various aspects of the village's obligations to the civilians living there. He said that having been raised in the shinobi lifestyle, Naruto would be able to prioritize those responsibilities on his own, but that he might need help with the other, more mundane tasks of running a village."

Kakashi looked up from his book and studied her again. Lord Sesshoumaru was indeed a very wise leader, and it seemed the reputation of the Enjo-sha being trained to specifically complement her intended as a perfect helpmate was true. Naruto might not like it that the Third Hokage had arranged his marriage, but this girl could prove to be invaluable to him. And she was easy on the eyes, too. If he wasn't so dead-set against the marriage, he suspected the knucklehead would have been bowled over at first sight. In fact, as he watched her raise her arms over her head and stretch her back after sitting on the ground for so long, he was just a tiny bit uncomfortable about some of the thoughts he was having about Naruto's fiancé. With her long, black hair and shapely figure, she resembled the description of the woman in this book a little too much.

"So, that's the boy wonder up there, huh? As if one of him wasn't enough," Inuyasha grumbled, taking a seat beside her.

"I guess Sesshoumaru sent you two to babysit me."

"Of course! You didn't really think he was going to just let you go running off by yourself after some guy, even if he _had_ expected you to be doing the horizontal tango with him tomorrow night after the wedding," Shippou said with a grin.

Yamato choked and nearly dropped his arm, while Kakashi eyed the newcomers with interest. _It looks like the loudmouth is still in a snit about Naruto's protests earlier, but the other one seems much more easy-going, like the monk. _

"Shippou!" the girl blushed profusely.

"Will you just shut up already!? Damn it, Kagome, you should have heard him earlier, talking about you having to raise the dead to consummate the marriage and shit like that."

"_What?!"_

Yamato completely lost his focus and fell over and Kakashi had to cover his mask with his hand. Just then, a pink-haired kunoichi came walking up carrying a basket.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei! Captain Yamato!" she called in greeting. "I've brought Naruto some more food pills."

"That's very kind of you, Sakura. I'm sure he will appreciate them."

"Oh, I didn't realize you had visitors with you. Hello," she bowed politely.

Kagome quickly stood up, followed by Inuyasha. "Hello," she responded, with a bow of her own. Inuyasha and Shippou bowed, too.

Then an awkward silence filled the meadow. Kakashi wasn't sure how they were supposed to introduce Kagome. Fortunately, he was saved by the arrival of Miroku and Sango.

"What's this? Yet another lovely, young kunoichi? Hatake-san, your land is simply overflowing with beauty. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Miroku from the Land of the Rising Sun. You wouldn't happen to be free this evening, would you?" he said, bowing low, then taking Sakura's hand in his and moving closer to her.

"Knock it off, houshi-sama," Sango warned him.

Pulling her hand back and taking a couple of steps away from him, Sakura mumbled, "Oh, that's right. Izumo said something about a bunch of visitors from the Land of the Rising Sun. I'd better be going. I'm meeting up with Ino, Chouji, and Sai in a bit. Please tell Naruto he's welcome to join us when he's done for the day." With another bow, she left.

While he was receiving inquisitive looks from three of the other shinobi and a slight scowl from one of them, Kakashi noticed Kagome looking down at the ground. It appeared the Enjo-sha was feeling a little insecure after seeing another girl bring a gift for her fiancé. He guessed he couldn't blame her, all things considered. "Haruno Sakura is one of Naruto's teammates."

"It was very kind of her to bring him something to help him keep up his strength while training."

"Feh! You wouldn't think it was so kind if you could smell those things."

"Inuyasha! That's not nice! I'm sure they're very nutritious," Kagome scolded him.

"We just came to let you know that the Hokage has issued you an apartment near your future husband's," Sango told her. "In fact, it's directly beneath his, and your things have already been taken there. So, you should just go there tonight after you're done with dinner and sight-seeing and …" her voice dropped a tad lower, "anything else you need to take care of," she said, and Kakashi's interest was piqued when Kagome acknowledged something that was being left unsaid with a slight nod. "Most of us will be leaving tomorrow around mid-day, instead of staying for a week like we originally planned, so we can return in three months. I wish I could stay, but …"

"I know, Sango. I wish you could, too, but Sesshoumaru needs to have the Captain of his Guard with him, especially when he's traveling." Kagome hugged the taller woman.

"On the bright side, Shippou and I will be your roommates for the next three months," Miroku said with a wink.

"My _roommates?_ Seriously?"

"Don't worry, Kagome. I can assure you we will be very lax chaperones. So don't worry about us getting in the way if you want to seduce your intended into having some prenuptial …"

Inuyasha punched Shippou in the gut before he could finish. "There will be no prenuptial _anything_ going on!"

"This is why he isn't letting you stay, you know," the redhead spat out as he straightened up and rubbed his abdomen.

Kakashi had seen the look that had passed between the monk and the tall, red-haired shinobi when Kagome had hugged the other kunoichi. He understood why the Tsukikage had chosen them to stay with her. While it was obvious they all cared for her, the two of them seemed to be experts at distracting her when she felt sad or anxious. They were also definitely the most diplomatic shinobi among their group, if a bit perverted. When he had left the Hokage Tower earlier, he had seen the angry looks still on the faces of the visiting nin standing outside. Apparently, an insult to the Enjo-sha would not soon be forgotten.

Miroku and Sango left to prepare to escort Sesshoumaru when he went to dinner with Lady Tsunade, so Kagome turned her attention back to Naruto. He had been expending so much energy and chakra for a long time now. Even from this distance, she could see the determination in his face and the set of his chin. He had set a goal for himself and he was giving it all he had to reach it. She had to admire that.

"So, see anything you like, Kagome? Not too skinny, not too bulked-up, shiny blond hair, and I know you noticed those eyes of his. Your kids will definitely have blue eyes. They're a lighter shade than yours, but still quite attractive. And there seems to be plenty of him to go around. Of course, at this rate, he'll be too exhausted to …"

"Argh! Shut up, you stupid fox! Kagome isn't interested in any of that!"

"Ha! You can try to tell yourself that if you want to, dog-boy, but do you think she's just been looking at his chakra all this time?"

Covering her face with her hands, Kagome mumbled, "I think I'll look around at some of the other nearby training grounds for a bit."

Not looking up from the book he was reading, Kakashi pointed west. "There are some target posts and wooden dummies about half a kilometer that way if you'd like to borrow some shuriken or kunai."

"Thank you. I'll use my own, if that's all right."

"That's fine." Without seeming to glance their way, he examined all three of them closely. He was sure she wasn't carrying any weapons. The grumpy one had a sword across his back, but nothing else, either. The one who had been teasing her was the only one carrying a pouch and wearing a vest with multi-functional pockets where he could store several items. Perhaps she was going to borrow his? With a nod to Yamato, Kakashi got up to discreetly follow them.

...

"Still at it, huh? I have orders to make sure he stops and takes her to dinner." Shikamaru looked around the meadow. "Did she leave? Please tell me she isn't wandering around the village by herself."

"She and two of her companions are having a little target practice. You might find it interesting," the copy nin told him. "Naruto! That's it for today!"

"Aw, come on, Kakashi-sensei!" the blond complained, dispersing the clones and leaping down to land in front of them. "I'm getting close—I know it!" But the way he sat down so heavily betrayed his exhaustion.

"You should go have a nice dinner with your fiancé and then get a good night's sleep. "

"Oh yeah, right. Where is she? She's not really my fiancé, is she?"

"That's _exactly_ what she is, and do _not_ let anyone hear you say anything different," Shikamaru warned him with a frown. _If he were to continue to reject her, the Tsukikage would most likely consider both the contract and the new agreement broken. And we don't need any rumors of an **available**, beautiful, foreign kunoichi with unusual powers being __in Konoha to draw in spies from the other villages. _"This needs to look like an ordinary engagement. Don't tell anyone she is an Enjo-sha or what land she comes from."

"Keeping where she is from a secret may be a bit of problem, Shikamaru, since apparently Izumo has been telling people we have visitors from the Land of the Rising Sun, and the monk introduced himself to Sakura as being from there," Kakashi informed him.

"Damn it. Lady Tsunade will not be pleased. Since the wedding isn't taking place for three months, that will give others plenty of time to try to take her if they find out about her, and we are operating under the assumption that Orochimaru probably already knows." _So troublesome!_

That got Naruto's attention and he quickly sat up. "Orochimaru? Why would that freak want her?"

"She's a powerful reiki-user. I'm sure he would love to run all kinds of experiments on her to try to harness that kind of power. But he would also like to simply keep her away from _you_."

"Keep her away from me? Why?"

Yamato sighed in exasperation. "Naruto, the whole point of having an Enjo-sha bride is to enhance your power or position. She helps you with your weaknesses. She provides skills you need, support, encouragement, and comfort. Diplomatically, she may take over tasks you find distasteful, so you can concentrate on your strengths. She becomes your right hand. Orochimaru wants to destroy Konoha, and you are one of the ones standing in his way. He doesn't want you to receive the kind of help she will supply. And the Akatsuki want to capture you and all the other jinchuriki and extract the tailed beasts for whatever nefarious scheme they are plotting, and her powers could probably help them. I'm sure there are many others throughout the Five Great Nations who would like to be able to access her power. They could even marry her to one of the other jinchuriki."

"Do you really think she can help me so I can get stronger?"

"I think it's a definite possibility. So, get up and start getting to know her."

...

As Shikamaru and Naruto approached the training area where Kakashi said the foreign shinobi were doing some target practice, they were surprised to see bright flashes of light. Four glowing, pink shuriken whizzed through the air and sank deeply into one of the targets in a vertical line. Looking for the thrower, they couldn't see anyone in the field. Suddenly, they heard someone yell, "Gotcha!" Then a flaming pink arrow hit the post directly above the shuriken.

"Nice one, Kagome!" The red-haired shinobi jumped down from a tree and walked over to check the placement of the arrow.

The girl leaped down from another tree. "Thanks! But Inuyasha got me before I got the shot off." She wiped some blood from her left arm.

"Keh! You have to aim quicker," the third member of the squad told her as he, too, appeared to leap from one of the surrounding trees.

"Well, it didn't throw her off-target," Shippou pointed out.

"No, but she would have been able to dodge my blade if she was faster. Looks like you got her, too," he indicated a black, singed spot on the back of the shoulder of her tank top.

As they were talking, the shuriken and arrow disappeared.

"Where did they go? And where's your bow?" Naruto asked.

"Yes! Loverboy's finally here! It must be dinnertime! I'm starving!" Shippou grabbed his stomach dramatically.

With a slight blush at her friend's antics, Kagome answered, "I make all of my weapons from my reiki. One of my masters taught me how to do that so I wouldn't have to carry any."

"Not to mention, if they hit anything with youki or even evil intent, they will purify it by turning it to ash if she's got them powered up," Inuyasha told him. "Give her a bandage, Shippou."

"So, you were throwing shuriken and shooting arrows from the trees while dodging their attacks?"

"Not just from the trees, but, yeah. That's when your accuracy counts the most, right? During melee? So, we like to play our own version of tag when we practice. You have to call your shots before you start. I need more practice switching from other weapons to my bow because it does take me a couple of seconds to line up my shot," Kagome explained.

"Isn't a bow a bit impractical in a fight?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, definitely," she agreed, while Shippou tied off the bandage on her arm. "However, depending on the opponent I'm facing, it's my most powerful weapon. I can channel 10x more reiki into an arrow than into a kunai or shuriken. The hamaya is a priestess' main form of attack, unless she is a truly formidable warrior like Midoriko, who wielded a sword. I don't have anywhere near the physical strength she had. Of course, as the Enjo-sha, I will primarily concentrate on defensive moves. I prefer to use a bo for that." Taking a few steps until she was standing right in front of Naruto, she touched his arm, and sky blue eyes met sapphire ones. "I promise I will let you fight your own battles, because you are more than capable of that, but I will always cover your back."

As he heard her vow to him, he couldn't help but picture the two of them fighting back-to-back, their movements in synch with each other, and her long, dark hair sweeping the air around them as she moved. He could see how her lips would tilt upwards at the corners and how her eyes would sparkle in victory. He continued to stare at her, and her cheeks took on a faint, rosy hue and the blue of her eyes darkened until the slight wind blew a long stand of hair across her face. She removed her hand from his arm to tuck the hair behind her ear.

"I thought we were going to dinner."

Kagome blinked and looked away, while Naruto rubbed the back of his head a bit awkwardly.

Shippou smacked Inuyasha upside the head. In hushed tones, he admonished the silver-haired shinobi, "Damn it! Can't you see they're having a moment?"

"You're the one who said he was starving!"

Shikamaru was encouraged by their small interaction with each other. It looked like Naruto wasn't completely oblivious to her beauty, and perhaps she found him attractive as well. Maybe they would all get to keep their heads after all. "So, where are you going to go for dinner, Naruto? Konoha has several nice places you can take her."

"Uh? Ramen Ichiraku?"

_Maybe not. _"Why don't you find out what _she _likes to eat?" the shadow nin said with a sigh. Perhaps he had been a little too optimistic. _Honestly, am I going to have to hold his hand and walk him through this entire engagement?_

"That's all right. Ramen sounds fine to me. I take it that's a favorite of yours," Kagome smiled at him.

"It's the best! Teuchi is a genius! You'll see!"

"Inuyasha, you should probably go have dinner with Kikyou. Otherwise, she will just stay in her room by herself."

"Aw, you know she won't want ramen."

"I know, but I hate to think of her sitting all by herself all evening. She has been uncomfortable ever since we reached this country. And you two should spend some time together," the girl said quietly.

Something in his eyes flashed as he looked at Kagome's face, then he closed them and nodded. "Yeah …"

"Don't worry, Inuyasha. I'm on the job, and I will stick to them like glue to protect Kagome-sama's virtue," Shippou promised, while vigorously shaking his head "no" and winking at Naruto.

"This is all just fucking great," the dog-eared man grumbled as he walked away.

"You're coming with us, aren't you, Shikamaru?" the blond asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Sure." _Why not? Lady Tsunade is probably going to make me shadow them the entire three months to make sure the idiot doesn't say or do anything wrong. This is going to be such a drag._ Maybe he should team up with the monk and this companion of hers who seems eager for them to spend some time alone together. The sooner this business was over, the better. Then again, if he spends _too much_ time alone with her, there was no telling what he might say. Even if he realizes he is attracted to his fiancé, that doesn't mean he is going to accept the fact that he has to actually marry her in three months. He has spent the last three _years_ working tirelessly with one goal in mind: bring Sasuke back. He isn't going to switch tracks that easily.

...

After they received their orders and started eating, Shippou laughed. "Inuyasha is going to turn green with envy and die when I tell him how good this is! He and Kikyou are probably having a seaweed salad and some sashimi with no rice. I swear that girl is barely human with the way she eats. Sometimes, I think she just exists off of the misery of others. She never smiles, and her hands are as cold as her voice."

"Shippou! That's very unkind of you to say that! Kikyou has worked and trained hard almost all of her life. And she lost her mother when she was very young. She just never learned to open up to people."

"Boy, is _that_ an understatement. She sure knows how to boss everyone around, though. Hey, kid!" He leaned back on his stool and reached across Kagome's back to tap Naruto's shoulder. "You lucked out—you almost had to marry her sister!" Then he laughed again.

Teuchi's eyes widened when he heard that, but when it came to Naruto, there was no telling what kind of situations the boy got himself into. He wouldn't be surprised if he _did_ end up being forced to marry some girl he rescued on some mission one of these days.

Shikamaru digested the information along with his dinner. The monk had mentioned that the other girl had been raised to be the Enjo-sha. He had also said she probably knew Kagome was supposed to be the Enjo-sha all along, but hadn't told anyone. So, her character was dubious at best. He didn't know what Naruto thought, but he thought Shippou was probably right—Naruto _did_ get lucky.

"Shikamaru! Where have you been? We haven't seen you all day." A pretty blonde and a stocky guy with long brown hair walked into the ramen shop. "We had dinner with Sakura and Sai earlier, and we were going to invite you to join us. You, too, Naruto," the blonde said.

Naruto saw Ino looking questioningly at the girl sitting beside him and nearly choked on his noodles. He didn't have a clue what he should say. Seeing his panicked expression, Shikamaru sighed. _Naruto got lucky, but this poor girl … Time to bite the bullet._

"Ino. Chouji. I've been helping Naruto welcome Kagome-san and Shippou-san to Konoha," he indicated the two of them sitting on the other side of Naruto. "Kagome is Naruto's fiancé."

Kagome stood up and gave a slight bow while Shippou just inclined his head a bit. "No need for formalities. I'm happy to meet some of Naruto's friends," the dark-haired kunoichi said with a smile.

"His … _fiancé?"_ Ino stared at her. This girl was beautiful, with her long, inky-black hair and large, stunning blue eyes. Her smile was bright and engaging and there was just a touch of pink to her cheeks. She was short, but she was built like a goddess. This girl was going to marry Naruto? _When did this happen? How? Why?_

"Naruto, you dog! Where did you find _her_?" Chouji asked with a wink.

"Uh …"

"Kagome's … guardian was a friend of the Third Hokage's," Shikamaru answered for him.

"Well, pleased to meet you. And Shippou, was it?"

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, too," the redhead replied with a sly grin. "You'll have to tell us lots of embarrassing stories about Naruto, and I can tell you some about Kagome."

"Uh … that'll have to wait." Naruto jumped down from the stool. "I, uh, need to show Kagome where she'll be staying. Yeah. We'd better be going." He grabbed her arm and headed for the door.

"It was nice to meet you," Kagome said as they left.

"That was weird. It looks like he hadn't even finished his second bowl of ramen. What do you think that was about?" Chouji asked the others.

"Young love," Shippou announced. "He hasn't had her to himself since she arrived. Guess I'll take the long way back to the apartment so they can be all lovey-dovey in private."

Shikamaru snickered to himself. He knew Naruto had just been in a hurry to escape their questions and possibly any embarrassing stories they might share. He highly doubted the jinchuriki was thinking of moonlight and romance, but with Shippou putting that spin on it, he had no doubt that by tomorrow the village would be buzzing with the news that Naruto was in love. It was brilliant, actually. He raised his glass in salute to the foreign shinobi.

"By the way, Shikamaru. Where _is_ our apartment?"

Seeing that Ino was ready to corner him for details, the acknowledged lazy nin took the easy out. "I'll show you." Once they were outside, he motioned for Shippou to follow him around to the alley on the side of the building, where they listened through the window.

When the two of them had left, Ino and Chouji looked at each other. Then they looked at Teuchi and Ayame. "Where do you think they met?" Ino asked.

"_When _did they meet?" Ayame chimed in.

"It had to be when Naruto was traveling with Jiraiya. Shikamaru said her guardian was a friend of the Third's, so it would make sense that Jiraiya would visit him if they passed through their village," Chouji said with a nod.

"A large group of foreign shinobi came to town today," Teuchi told them. "I heard one of them say something about how their Tsukikage never negotiates, but apparently he did because the girl wanted him to. He must be her guardian!"

"So, her guardian is someone important and powerful. Do you think Naruto had Lady Tsunade plead his case so her guardian would let him marry her?" Chouji asked.

"That must be it!" Ino exclaimed excitedly.

_Perfect. _Shikamaru gave Shippou a thumbs-up. Tomorrow, he would simply tell anyone who asked that Lord Sesshoumaru and Lady Tsunade had just come to an agreement today so Naruto and Kagome could get married in three months. Hopefully, that would spike any rumors about there being anything unusual about Naruto's engagement or about the girl he was marrying. Now all they had to do was get Naruto to accept it.

...

After a couple of minutes of walking rapidly away from the ramen shop, Naruto realized he was still holding onto Kagome's arm. He let go and smiled a little sheepishly at her before looking down at the ground. "Sorry. I just don't know what I'm supposed to say to anyone about all of this."

"That's okay. I understand." She looked away so he couldn't see her face. "This is awkward for me, too. I thought you were expecting me, and I had hoped you would be looking forward to our life together."

Letting out a long sigh, Naruto looked up at the night sky. "Yeah. I'm … sorry about that, too. But I've never even thought about getting married. I've got something really important I need to do before I even start thinking about stuff like that."

"Bringing back your friend."

"Yeah. How did you know about that?"

"Your master told me."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

At her nod, he started walking again. "Sasuke is … just messed up. He thinks he has to avenge his family by killing his brother, and he thinks the only way he can become strong enough to do that is by fueling his hatred. He thinks all his energy has to be focused on revenge, so he has to forget about everyone who cares about him."

"And what will he do after he kills his brother?"

"Exactly! He's so stupid! He's pushing away his friends and trying to cut all his bonds and when it's all over, he'll just be alone."

"So, you are determined to get strong enough to beat him and prove to him that caring for others and letting them care for you isn't a weakness. Very admirable. Sesshoumaru always says that a person finds his true strength when he has someone to protect. "

They walked along in silence for a few minutes, then Kagome told him, "I will do everything I can to help you so you can bring your friend back. I can suppress the nine-tailed beast if I need to, but I want to get him to cooperate with you. So, even if you aren't ready to bring Sasuke back at the end of this three months, will you at least think about the marriage?"

"I don't really have any choice, do I?" he said with a touch of bitterness in his voice. But he knew instantly that he had said the wrong thing. _Oh crap! Does she have to look at me like that—like she's gonna cry or something? This isn't fair!_ "I mean … look, uh …"

She had stopped walking and had turned slightly so she was facing away from him again. She looked very small and alone standing there, but then he saw her clench her fists and lift her chin slightly, and he blinked in surprise. Her voice was quiet, but strong. "You have every right to be angry about the situation we are both in now, but so do I, and I don't think I'm asking too much."

He walked around her until he was standing directly in the path she was facing. The light from a streetlamp made the dampness in her long eyelashes shine, but looking into her eyes, he saw strength and dignity. She wasn't going to break down and cry or yell at him or hit him or anything like that. And he knew she deserved better than his moaning and groaning about the damned contract. _She_ hadn't arranged the marriage. "No, you're not asking too much. Come on," and he held out his hand.

She stared at it for a minute before she reached out and placed hers on top of it. With a grin, Naruto started walking again, only to stop a few steps later. "I haven't got a clue where we're going. Where are you staying?"

...

Having dropped Shippou off at the apartment he was sharing with Kagome and Miroku, Shikamaru turned to head for his own home. This had been a very long, very troublesome day. And he didn't really expect tomorrow to be much better. _What the heck?_ On the roof of the building up ahead, he could swear he saw Kagome. She had a black bag strapped across her back and she was looking around in all directions. A second later, she was gone in a blur of black. He knew some of the ANBU were shadowing her, but he resigned himself to following, too, to see what she was up to. He was going to need a vacation when this three months is up.


	4. Chapter 4

_Last time:_  
Having dropped Shippou off at the apartment he was sharing with Kagome and Miroku, Shikamaru turned to head for his own home. This had been a very long, very troublesome day. And he didn't really expect tomorrow to be much better. _What the heck?_ On the roof of the building up ahead, he could swear he saw Kagome. She had a black bag strapped across her back and she was looking around in all directions. A second later, she was gone in a blur of black. He knew some of the ANBU were shadowing her, but he resigned himself to following, too, to see what she was up to. He was going to need a vacation when this three months is up.

Unwanted Chapter 4

Having left the lights of the village far behind, Shikamaru wondered once again what the foreign kunoichi was doing. She had stopped a few times to pick flowers or pluck leaves from some plants and put them in her bag, then twice near two small pools of water which were fed by small waterfalls trickling down craggy cliffs. But after looking around for a moment, she had taken off again. He knew the area she was heading toward now also had a waterfall—a rather pretty one, where some of the deer from the Nara lands liked to gather in the Spring. He had whiled away many afternoons watching the deer in the meadow and the clouds rolling across the sky as he lay in the grass listening to the roar of the water rushing down to the basin beside him. If she was looking for a waterfall for some reason, he knew she would choose it.

She was, and she did. She walked all around the pool of water, then took the bag off her back. Shikamaru blinked when she took off the black haori and hakamas she had been wearing, and stood there clad only in some kind of thin, white robe, which looked almost transparent in the moonlight. She looked like a goddess with her pale skin and that mass of dark hair spilling over her shoulders and flowing down her back, and for a just a second, he was a bit envious of Naruto. He watched her take a large, stone bowl out of the bag and fill it with some of the leaves and flowers she had gathered, along with several more items it appeared she already had. When she took out a small tool and used it to crush what she had put into the bowl, he realized it was some form of mortar and pestle. She didn't grind everything into a paste, though—she just broke the leaves, stems, and spices up to release and mix their various fragrances. Then she took the petals from some large, white flowers and crushed them in her hands and sprinkled them on top of the mixture.

"Peeking on Kagome-sama? Really, Shikamaru, I didn't take you for a voyeur." He had been so intent on seeing what she was doing that he had barely noticed the two shinobi until they landed and kneeled down on each side of him where he was crouched behind some bushes.

"I did," Shippou said with a grin. "I think the Leaf Village has more than its fair share of perverts."

"Then you two should fit right in. She was acting suspiciously, so naturally, I followed her."

"Naturally. Along with two of your ANBU," the monk pointed out.

He had sensed the ANBU? "Your sensory detection must be extremely good for you to have sensed their chakra."

"Not their chakra, their _auras._ And if I know they're here, then so does she. She knows we are here, too, but she can't allow her concentration to be broken. She will be trusting us to keep everyone else a respectful distance away. Shippou will have to fog your ANBU's vision in a few minutes."

"They won't like that."

"Too bad," Shippou responded, while cracking his knuckles quietly.

"So, what is she doing that requires such a clandestine location along with your security?" He watched her walk all around the basin again, sprinkling the contents of the bowl on the ground at the edge of the water.

"This is the place Kagome-sama has chosen to come to for prayer, meditation, and purification. She is in a new land in a new country. It's important that she establish her connection here. She is consecrating and purifying the area. Each of the flowers, plants, herbs, and spices she is using holds special meaning and powers. Mugwort is for consecration, protection, and tranquility. Angelica for purification and protection. Cinnamon for energy, purification, success, and healing. Allspice for energy and luck. White chyrsanthemums for purification and truth. White lilies for purity. Yarrow for courage. There are also some others with similar properties. Personally, I am happy to see she has added red lotus for love, passion, and compassion, and hawthorn for hope, but sad that she has omitted the ivy that I know she brought with her. Ivy is for friendship, fidelity, marriage, and wedded love. This was supposed to be the night before her wedding, if you remember.

Now, you see where she is sitting next to the waterfall? She is meditating to commune with the spirits who live here. After meditating for a while, she will take the remaining mixture in the bowl and some more crushed petals into the water and bathe in them as she offers her protection to the water, land, and nature all around her, and gives thanks for the energy, strength, and power they will give her in return. As a true priestess, Kagome-sama was born with reiki in her soul, but she is very connected to and interacts with the ki that inhabits every living thing."

After several long moments of silence passed, the priestess moved from the lotus position she was sitting in and stood up. Facing the waterfall, she untied the sash on her robe. Suddenly, an unpleasantly heavy-feeling green mist began to fill the air around the three spectators.

A low, deep voice behind them growled, "Did you really think this Sesshoumaru would not stand guard for her one last time?"

The monk and the redhead jumped up. "Of course, Lord Sesshoumaru. We were just making sure she found what she was looking for."

"Of course." He met Shikamaru's eyes. "It will be the jinchuriki's duty to stand guard for her when they are married." Then he disappeared from where he was standing and reappeared next to the body of water, where he stood with his back to her with both swords drawn. In another moment, the green mist surrounding them completely obscured their view of the waterfall, the priestess, and her silent guard.

Miroku coughed and let out a small sigh. "We may as well head back to the village. He will escort her back."

"If the ANBU are having similar difficulties seeing what she is doing right now, there will be more on their way," Shikamaru warned them.

"Well, the rest of the perverts will just have to suck it up and accept the fact that watching a priestess bathe is a no-no. I doubt they will even get this close. Sesshoumaru's miasma will be extremely heavy and slightly poisonous at whatever perimeter he has set. He won't let anyone get close to her now because this is when she is most vulnerable. Miroku and I will stand guard in Sesshoumaru's absence in the months to come. Perhaps you should let the ANBU know that the Tsukikage would find it disrespectful of them if they try to invade the sanctity of this ritual in the future."

"All of you are very troublesome."

...

The next morning, Kagome and Miroku returned to the area where Naruto had been training the day before. They had knocked on the door to his apartment to invite him to join them for breakfast, but the jinchuriki was already gone. Kagome was dressed casually again, in a royal blue tank top and tan shorts, while Miroku was once more looking more like a monk than a shinobi.

Greeting Kakashi and Yamato as she sat down in the grass near them, Kagome said, "I'll have to start getting up earlier. I didn't realize he would be out here already."

"Naruto has never been an early riser, but he is determined to master this as quickly as humanly possible. He is pushing himself beyond his limits, to the point where he sometimes passes out from exhaustion. It was good for him to take a break and go to dinner yesterday, but I doubt he will do it again today," the masked nin let her know.

"I don't want him to compromise what he feels he must do just to be polite for my sake. I won't ask him to go out to eat or to escort me around or anything like that. I'll spend most of my time here, too, if that won't be too big an imposition for you. I'll just make sure to have some food available for him when he is ready to eat. Thank you for telling me."

"Looks like your nighttime wanderings have garnered you two extra shadows today, Kagome-sama," the monk said with a smile.

"Yes. I suppose I should have told the Hokage what I would be doing. I am not yet a trusted citizen of this village, and I have become too used to doing as I please under Sesshoumaru's watchful eye. I may need you to remind me of that," she sighed.

_So, they are both aware of the three ANBU here. I wonder what she was doing last night?_

"The market here has such wonderful variety! Konoha must have very good trade arrangements with the other lands," Shippou said as he arrived carrying a large box. As he sat down, he took several sealed bowls and containers out of it. "I fixed some rice with natto and fried eggs and some miso soup for breakfast. I also bought some bananas and yoghurt. There's plenty if you two want to join us," he told Kakashi and Yamato as he indicated what he had set out.

Yamato eyed the food a bit wistfully, but declined. There was no way he could eat when he had to be prepared to suppress the nine tails at any second.

"I can take care of Naruto while you eat," Kagome offered.

"Let her do it, Tenzo. I'm quite curious to see how she will handle the nine tails. It hasn't broken through at this stage in his training yet, though, because he has been so exhausted that he collapses before the nine tails' chakra takes over. Since he may have actually had a decent night's sleep last night, it may be a different story today."

"If you're sure, Kakashi-senpai," Yamato said a bit warily. "Do you need to prepare a vantage point to work from?"

"No. I'll just need to touch him."

The two Konoha nin looked at each other in surprise. _That's it?_

Miroku and Shippou nodded at them. Appearing to gaze at Naruto and the multiple shadow clones contemplatively, the red-haired shinobi added, "Or she could hit him with a reiki shuriken, if she wanted. Or smack him with her reiki bo. But I suppose it would be a bit _nicer_ to just tap your sweetheart on the shoulder instead of wounding him. Unless he's being a jerk."

"Speaking of sweethearts, I heard an interesting rumor this morning. Apparently, Naruto met Kagome sometime during his travels with Jiraiya, and the two of them fell madly in love. But Kagome's guardian is a very rich, important man and he refused to give them his blessing and made Naruto leave his village. The poor boy has done nothing but beg Lady Tsunade to intervene on his behalf ever since he returned to Konoha, and _finally,_ the man agreed to negotiate with her about them getting married. Obviously, our Hokage is extremely persuasive, and I won't even mention the other rumors about **how** she managed to persuade him_, _and now they are engaged," Kakashi told them without looking up from his book. "Of course, this version of events will no doubt be beneficial to all concerned during the next three months, but I do wonder how rumors like that get started."

Shippou and Miroku started laughing. "You've outdone yourself, Shippou," the monk congratulated him.

"I can't take all the credit. All I said was that he wanted to spend some time _alone_ with her when he grabbed her arm and made a quick exit from the ramen shop. Shikamaru said I couldn't have had a better audience than his teammates and the shop owner and his daughter. They came up with the whole backstory all by themselves."

"Well, I'm sure Lady Tsunade will endorse it—all except for the parts involving sake', candlelight, and her wearing a certain red dress."

The other two burst out with laughter again while Yamato choked on his food. Kagome tried to pretend she hadn't heard what they were talking about, but her red cheeks gave her away. She hoped Naruto wouldn't mind such a story circulating about them. And some tiny part of her couldn't help but wish it was just a little bit true. It certainly was more romantic than being "ordered" like an item from a catalog and trained to be his bride.

Giving herself a little mental shake, she stood up and walked towards the waterfall. She could feel … something. Scanning the clones on the left side of the bridge, she saw one of them waver for just a second. Leaping up beside him, she reached out her hand right as a red cloak with one tail began to cover him. The pink glow of her reiki immediately dispersed the nine tails' chakra cloak when her fingers touched his arm, and the clone stumbled forward face first into the flowing water, but was still there to turn towards her with a surprised look.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Naruto yelled from the middle of the bridge.

"I think you need to take a short break. Come on, Shippou made breakfast." She held out her hand to the clone she had touched. Naruto and the other clones frowned, but the one she was talking to took her hand without hesitation and leaped down with her to join the others watching below.

"She's right. The nine tails was taking over. You should take a break," Kakashi told him.

"Seriously? I didn't even feel it. Usually, I can feel an intense burn, but all I felt was a warm, tingling sensation." He dispersed the rest of the clones and landed in front of the other one. He was still holding her hand.

Yamato stood up and walked over to her. "That was amazing! You stopped it so quickly, and the clone was able to retain its form."

_And apparently, that clone is infatuated with her now,_ Kakashi mused to himself as he watched the clone continue to hold on to her hand and grin.

Naruto frowned and dispersed it.

"Have you had anything to eat this morning?" Kagome asked him.

"Nah. I was in a hurry to get started."

"Sit down and eat a few bites. Then you should be able to continue for a while without having to worry about the bijuu's chakra interfering. However, the next time it does, I would like to try to communicate with him, if you don't mind. He definitely knows I am here now."

"You want to talk to the nine tails? The only times he ever talks to me are when he thinks he can get me to give him control."

She nodded as she handed him a bowl. "I'm not surprised. Kitsune are notoriously sneaky and manipulative." She looked over at Shippou, who just grinned back at her.

Yamato and Kakashi exchanged a glance. _I guess that confirms our suspicions that some of her comrades are, indeed, demons._

While Naruto ate, Kagome asked him about his favorite foods. He mentioned a few of the restaurants he liked to eat at, other than Ramen Ichiraku, but he didn't seem to know many of the food vendors in the market. It seemed that Naruto subsisted on restaurant food and instant noodles. He was a lot like Inuyasha in that regard. She resolved to go to the market herself, as soon as she could to start making the connections she would need as a citizen here. As she continued to ask Naruto questions about the village, Kakashi smiled to himself. She was getting him to rest without complaining for a lot longer than he normally would.

When the blond finally stood up to resume his training, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou excused themselves to go wish their comrades farewell. Knowing that Naruto had eaten and rested, she was sure he would be able to carry on without the nine tails trying to take over for at least a couple of hours. He really was amazingly strong.

"See you later, Kagome-chan!" one of the clones called from the bridge. She waved and left.

...

"You don't always have to give so much."

"Ah, but a wise man once told me that sometimes you have to give in order to have room to receive."

"You think to turn my own words against me?"

"They're good words," she smiled.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Sesshoumaru looked down into her eyes. "You are the equal of any man—you know your own worth. Always remember who you are."

"I will," Kagome managed to keep smiling, even though she had to blink rapidly to keep the tears at bay. "Be careful on your travels."

Quirking a brow at her, he replied, "This Sesshoumaru always is." Then he turned and walked away, and Kikyou followed him without so much as a goodbye to her younger sister. Sango gave her a grin and a quick salute before she led the rest of the guard into formation around him.

"Take care of Kikyou, Inuyasha."

"Keh. Of course. Don't put up with any shit. That includes anything from Shippou and Miroku."

"I'll see you in three months."

"Damn straight. Tell them to do it right next time." He glared at Shikamaru and Shizune, who were standing at the gates to see them off.

As she stood there and watched them leave, an excited feminine voice broke through her silent reverie, "Wow! Is that tall, elegant man your Tsukikage?"

"Hello, Ino-san. I'm afraid I didn't catch your surname yesterday."

"It's Yamanaka, but don't worry about that. You said there was no need for formalities, right? So, just call me Ino."

"Thank you, Ino. Yes, that was Lord Sesshoumaru."

"He has to be the most handsome man I've ever seen! Hi, Shikamaru," the blonde greeted her lazy teammate as he ambled over to them.

"He _is_ rather attractive, isn't he?" Kagome agreed with a grin.

"Miroku and Shipppou said to tell you they were taking the rest of the things Lord Sesshoumaru was leaving for you to your apartment. They will meet you back at the training field."

"Thank you. I suppose I should hurry then. I need to buy a few things at the market so I can fix something for Naruto for lunch, and for dinner later. Could you two please tell me who some of the vendors I should look for are?"

"If you don't mind some company, I'd be happy to show you," Ino offered.

"That would be wonderful!"

"I'll just tag along with you two since your comrades aren't here to escort you."

"Thank you, Shikamaru."

Ino raised a brow at him. Lady Tsunade must have told him to act as an escort in Naruto's absence since her guardian is such an important man. Otherwise, he'd never volunteer to go walking around the market. _Too troublesome. _She snickered to herself. "So, Naruto didn't come with you to say goodbye? I heard that the Tsukikage doesn't like him very much."

_Well, that's true enough._ "Naruto is working very hard to master a new technique so he can further develop a powerful jutsu. Lord Sesshoumaru respects hard work more than he cares about protocol. This training method he's using, with the multiple shadow clones, is really incredible. I've never seen anything like it."

"Really? I knew he was working hard. He was very upset after his fight with Orochimaru, where he lost control and the nine tails reached a four-tailed form, and then he was unable to get Sasuke to come back with him the last time they met. Sai said Sasuske was much more powerful than he had thought he would be. I know Naruto is determined to become strong enough to beat him." Ino sighed. "He has been trying to compete with Sasuke since we were all in the Academy. Ever since he started training with Jiraiya and went away for those three years, he seems to have grown up a lot. Everyone was impressed with the way he helped rescue the Kazekage. Gaara considers him a good friend."

"What was Naruto like when he was younger?"

"He was hopeless! He was constantly playing pranks and having to go see the Third Hokage because of it. He even painted the faces on Hokage Rock! He was _always_ in trouble. And he kept trying to challenge Sasuke, even though Sasuke was such a genius and Naruto was always dead last in our class. But he kept saying he would be Hokage some day. No one ever believed him, but now I wonder," Ino admitted.

"I'll bet he was adorable. I can just imagine the mischief shining in those blue eyes on his," Kagome said with a small smile. Then her smile faltered and she looked down at the ground. "Of course, as an orphan, I imagine he played so many pranks just to get some attention from the adults. And if Sasuke was acknowledged to be the best in your class, then Naruto set his sights on him because that was his goal. I think he also felt he and Sasuke had a lot in common since Sasuke's family was also killed. Two young boys trying to raise themselves to be the best, and neither of them had someone they loved to encourage them. And poor Naruto was hindered from shining because he didn't even know he was a jinchuriki, and so he couldn't control his chakra since so much of it was constantly being used subconsciously to contain any of the nine tails' chakra that might have been leaking out."

Ino stared at her with her mouth open. _I never thought about any of that. None of us knew he was the nine tails' jinchuriki back then, but even after we found out, I never thought about how that might have affected his abilities. And we all thought it was so pathetic of him to try to beat Sasuke, when we should have admired him for trying so hard._ "I'm really glad Naruto has you to stand by him, Kagome. He deserves to have something good happen to him for a change."

"That may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Ino."

The two girls locked arms in mutual camaraderie and Ino started pointing out who had the best fruit and where she could get some really fresh fish. Shikamaru smiled as he continued to follow them through the market. Kagome seemed to make friends easily. She wouldn't have any problems fitting in here. And she really did have a better perspective and insight when it came to Naruto's background than most of the people who had grown up around him. She wasn't burdened with the prejudices and fears the grown-ups in the village had tried to instill into the next generation. Ino was right: Naruto _did_ deserve to have something good happen to him, and that something could definitely be Kagome. He hoped so, anyway.

...

It was late that afternoon when Kagome got her first chance to try to speak with the nine-tailed beast. This time, when she touched the clone who had become encased in a red cloak, she held on to his arm. "Kyuubi-sama!"

She heard a low, raspy growl inside her head. "So polite, little priestess, but you aren't worth my time. Just go!"

Shaking her head, she stumbled into the clone she was touching. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Then the other clones began disappearing as Naruto collapsed on the bridge. Kakashi was by his side in an instant. "Are you all right?" he asked her as he lifted the blond shinobi onto his back.

She nodded. "Yes. I think the nine tails is unhappy that I'm here. He doesn't want to talk to me. Is Naruto okay?"

"He overdid it again. He never seems to know when to stop and rest."

They both landed in the grass and walked over to the spot where Kagome had been sitting underneath one of the trees. Looking at the basket which still contained the lunch she had fixed for him, she sighed softly. Everyone else had already eaten. "Here, let me spread out this blanket and get out the other one to cover him with if it gets cooler. The sun will start going down soon. Do you two need to go anywhere? I think he will sleep for a while."

Yamato stood up and stretched. "I think I'll take a walk to stretch my legs. Care to join me, senpai?"

"We'll go by the other training area and let your friends know."

"Thank you."

Kagome sat down next to Naruto's prone figure and gently lifted his head and placed it in her lap. Lightly tracing the markings on his cheeks with the pad of her finger, she thought about some of the things Ino had told her earlier, and whispered, "I'll bet you were a darling little boy."

...

"So, that's her, huh?" Kiba looked at Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru had stopped them before they stepped out of the shadows of the trees, seeing that Kagome and Naruto seemed to be alone. Ino had given Chouji some amazake, a sweet, fermented rice beverage, to take to Kagome and he had sought Shikamaru to find out where Naruto was training. The two of them had run into Kiba on the way here. "She's pretty hot."

"Yeah, and she fixed him food!"

"Seriously, Chouji? You look at a face and figure like that and you're impressed that she fixed him food?"

"Food is important!"

"For your sake, I really hope you marry a girl who can cook. Naruto's got the right idea. I'll take one like her, with a soft lap and breasts big enough to shade me from the sun."

"Shhh!" Shikamaru tried to get him to keep his voice low.

"Her breasts aren't ridiculously big like that," Chouji argued.

"I didn't say they were _huge_. Hers are just about right."

"Knock it off, you two."

"Yeah, you never know who might be listening," Shippou said, walking up behind them. "But I'd have to agree. Kagome's breasts really are pretty much the perfect size. Not _too_ big, and definitely not too small. Just the right amount to catch the eye and fill the hands, with a little overflow," he smirked at the three Konoha nin. "That is, if your hands are a decent size. Of course, in this instance, we'd have to judge by Naruto, and he has fairly large hands, so yeah, I'd say her breasts are the perfect size."

_Of course he would join in this conversation. _**_And_**_ make some new insinuations about the intimacy of Naruto and Kagome's relationship._ "Kiba, this is Shippou. He's one of Kagome's comrades."

"Man, Naruto really is one lucky son of a gun. The whole village is buzzing about the two of them."

"So, why are we hiding out back here? Oh! That does look like an intimate moment, doesn't it? Too bad loverboy is out cold. He's missing it. Well, I'm sure she'll make it up to him later," the foreign shinobi winked at them.

"Here. Ino thought Kagome might want some of this for Naruto. Tell her we'll see her later."

"Thanks, Shikamaru." The redhead took the bottle and saluted him, then stepped into the meadow.

"Let's go."

Kiba took one more look before turning to follow Shikamaru and Chouji. "You know, Hinata was really sad when she heard Naruto was engaged, but she said she hoped his fiancé was nice and that she would take care of him. What do you think, Shikamaru?"

"I think she _is_ very nice, and I think she would protect him with her life."

"Good. You know, Naruto being taken has finally given Shino the courage to step up. He's planning to ask Hinata for a date."

"Really? I wouldn't want to have face Hyuuga Hiashi to ask for her hand in marriage someday," Chouji declared.

"Well, he couldn't be any worse than that girl's guardian. I heard that Jiraiya had to fight him just so Naruto could date her, and then Lady Tsunade had to pull out the _big guns, _if you know what I mean …" Kiba said, gesturing in front of his chest, "to get the man to negotiate their marriage."

"We get the picture, Kiba."

"Now _those_ are some huge breasts," Chouji said with a nod.

...

Naruto turned on his side and rubbed his cheek against his pillow. It smelled nice, but it was different than it usually smelled after he did laundry. It smelled like fresh flowers with maybe a hint of something spicy, like cinnamon. His forehead wrinkled a bit as he frowned. He hadn't done his laundry for a while. Not for a long time, now that he thought about it. And his pillow was not usually this firm. He usually had to wad it up or put one of his arms under it to get comfortable. He started to slide his hand underneath it when he heard laughter. Opening his eyes, he saw ... blue. Confused, he shook his head a little. Looking up, he saw ... _mounds_ of blue. After a few seconds' bemused perusal of those mounds, he looked further up, and saw a different blue. He recognized the sapphire blue of those eyes. Had he been dreaming about them? He also saw full, pink lips, parted slightly in surprise. Focusing on her face, he saw a light rosy blush stain her cheeks. The laughter continued.

"It must be like waking up in Wonderland. Wouldn't you say so, Miroku?"

"Oh, absolutely! I can't remember the last time I woke to find myself so favorably ensconced in the lap of a nubile, young beauty. I'm quite sure I wasn't so bold as to push my luck by attempting to fondle her, _ahem_, rear assets upon waking, though."

"I'm quite sure you _**were**_."

Naruto's eyes widened as the truth of their words hit him. Obviously, for some reason, Kagome had let him use her lap as a pillow, and he had very nearly slid his hand right underneath her ... _rear assets._ Blushing profusely, he immediately sat up. "Eh ... heh heh. Sorry 'bout that." He reached up to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it. There's no telling where she may have touched _you_ while you were asleep and everyone else was gone," Shippou winked at him. "I can't remember, were you shirtless _before_ you passed out?"

"Shippou! Stop it!" She could feel the heat suffusing her face and knew it was as red as Naruto's. "Are you hungry? Miroku fixed some dinner. We have some grilled fish, rice, miso soup, and pickles. And Ino sent over a bottle of amazake for you to help ward off fatigue. You still have the basket of food pills your teammate made for you yesterday, too. Your friends are very supportive and considerate."

"Yeah, they're pretty awesome," he smiled as he accepted the plate she held out to him. "Where's Kakashi-sensei and Captain Yamato?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"Is this soon enough? We thought we would bring back some blankets since Naruto is likely to be out here quite late due to his long nap. Unless you would rather call it a day, Naruto?"

"No way, sensei! I'll be ready to go in just a few minutes!"

When he was back on the bridge and performed his multi-shadow clone jutsu, two of the clones turned and waved. "Hi, Kagome-chan!"

Kakashi pondered the interesting development. It seemed that whenever Kagome had direct contact with a clone, and used her reiki to suppress the nine tails' chakra from taking it over, that clone formed an attachment for her. Was it the fact that she helped them or were they picking up on something in her reiki that made them feel kindly disposed toward her? _Since Naruto can learn from his clones' experiences, perhaps she will win his heart one clone at a time._ It was an intriguing thought. After all, the clones were basically extensions of Naruto's own personality, intelligence, and feelings. Whatever the case, it was amusing because Naruto was clearly confused by their actions.

...

"Hello, Tenten! I see your team is finally back from your mission. You were gone quite a while," Sakura greeted her.

The brunette kunoichi smiled. "Yes, finally! It took _forever_ to escort that old man and his daughter to the Land of Lightning for her wedding. The father didn't like the guy she was going to marry and didn't want her to live so far away, so he spent the whole journey trying to change her mind. He even tried to get Neji to flirt with her. It was hilarious!"

"You wouldn't think it was so hilarious if _you_ were the one he was constantly throwing at the girl."

"Now _that_ would have been really funny!" Lee laughed. "And who would have thought we'd come home to a similar situation happening here? With Naruto, no less!"

"Did Lady Tsunade give Naruto a mission to escort someone somewhere?" the pink-haired medic nin asked. "She didn't ask me to go with him, and Sai is already on a mission."

"No, no, no! I am talking about his fiancé's guardian."

"Whose fiancé's guardian?"

"Naruto's!" the exuberant shinobi exclaimed. "Who else has a fiancé around here that we didn't know about?"

"I don't know who else has a fiancé that you didn't know about, but Naruto doesn't," Sakura shook her head in exasperation. Honestly, where did Lee get these ideas? He could be so dense!

Tenten gave her a puzzled look. "Are you sure? Because everybody's talking about it."

"Yeah! Kiba said she is _gorgeous!"_

"That's true, and Chouji agreed with him," Neji told her. "Izumo and Kotetsu said her guardian is a very impressive-looking shinobi, standing almost 7 feet tall. He is the Tsukikage of their land, and apparently, he didn't want to let her marry Naruto. That's why Lady Tsunade invited them here. They said he arrived with at least twenty guards and a priestess, in addition to the girl, of course, and her teammates."

"And one of them has ears like a dog!" Lee added.

Sakura stared at them. "There _were_ some important guests here, but … that just _can't_ be right! No. Naruto never said anything about a girl." She frowned in thought. "Of course, there _was_ that really pretty girl and some of the foreign shinobi at the field where Naruto was training …"

"I'll bet Naruto had to prove to her guardian that he was worthy of being her husband!" Lee said with an emphatic nod. "He probably had to give a demonstration of his strength and skills, especially since Jiraiya had to fight him just for Naruto to have the right to date her. What a victory for YOUTH! I'm so proud of him!" He burst into tears.

"Are you talking about Naruto and Kagome?" Ino asked, as she walked up to the little group standing in the middle of the street.

"You know, too? Why didn't Naruto tell me?" Sakura asked in a small voice.

"You didn't know?" Ino frowned. "I thought for sure he had probably told you when he got back from traveling with Jiraiya. I figured you were just keeping it quiet in case Lady Tsunade couldn't get her guardian to agree. Maybe that's why he didn't tell even you—because he was afraid they wouldn't be able to work it out." She felt a little sorry for her friend because she knew her feelings were hurt, but she guessed she could understand Naruto not wanting to open up about his lovelife in case he never got to see Kagome again. So, he had just put on a front and carried on the way he always had. "Or … maybe he was afraid to tell you since he used to think he was in love with _you_. Maybe it was just too awkward for him, especially since he hasn't been able to bring Sasuke back yet."

"I … suppose so."

"You'll like Kagome. She's really nice. I think she has spent most of her time since she's been here encouraging Naruto in his training. Shikamaru said she and her two friends even spent the night out there in the training field with him last night because he was still working after dark. And she was interested in getting to know the vendors in our market so she could make sure he had good food to eat."

"Is she as pretty as Kiba and Chouji said she is?" Lee asked.

"Oh, yes! She's beautiful, but she is very petite," Ino confirmed.

"Hmph. Nothing they were saying about her sounded _petite_," the Hyuuga prodigy informed her.

"Oh, good grief! I can imagine what they were talking about! When I say she's petite, I mean she's small—she's four or five inches shorter than we are," she said, pointing at herself and the other two girls.

"We should all get together for dinner so we can meet her and celebrate the passion of youth!" Lee suggested.

"Well, we can try to organize something, maybe when Sai gets back, but Kagome said Naruto isn't likely to want to take a break from training until he masters this technique."

"I'll ask them," Sakura said. "I was planning to take Naruto some more food pills today." _And I'll see for myself what this girl is like. What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time, Naruto?_

…

When the waterfall came into view, Sakura was surprised there were no clones lining the bridge across it. The field appeared empty, too. _I guess he stopped for the day._ It was unusual since there were still several hours of daylight left. She started to turn to go when she saw two figures under one of the trees. Sitting with her back against the tree trunk was the girl she had seen here the other day, and lying on a blanket with his head in her lap was Naruto. _Is it really true?_

Her thoughts were awhirl as she approached the couple. _That jerk! _ _I can't believe he fell in love with this girl and never said a word to me! And he's supposed to be training and instead he's just lying there being all lovey-dovey with his fiancé!_

Just as she opened her mouth to yell at him, she heard the girl say softly, "I've never seen anyone push himself this much. He collapsed again. Uchiha Sasuke really means a lot to him for him to go to these lengths just so he can try to make him listen to reason and come back to the village." She sighed and ran her fingers gently through his hair.

Her anger dissipating, Sakura quietly agreed. "Yeah. Sasuke is … really special."

She was surprised by the intense look in the sapphire blue eyes as they focused on her. "_Naruto_ is really special."

"Um … yes! Of course! I just meant …"

"Kakashi said the three of you were teammates. You forged bonds that should never be broken. I love my teammates like they are my own family, so I understand the pain you must both be in, and I understand what is driving him to push himself so hard. Thank you for being so supportive of Naruto. He needs the people who care about him to believe in him. I know he appreciates you taking the time to fix those food pills and bring them out here to him. Your encouragement means a lot to him."

"I want to help him, but there's not much I can do other than this," the pink-haired medic nin said as she set the basket down. "He does try to do too much. I don't think we introduced ourselves the other day. I'm Haruno Sakura."

"I will do all I can to help him and to keep him safe. I'm very glad to meet you. I'm Higurashi Kagome. Please, just call me Kagome. Since you and Naruto are friends and teammates, I hope we will be friends, too," she said with a genuine smile.

Sakura smiled back. "And just call me Sakura." _I don't know where or how Naruto met her, but he should definitely keep her. She didn't hesitate for a moment to let me know where her loyalties lie, yet she's still being friendly rather than just polite._ "Our new teammate, Sai, should return from his mission in a day or two. Several of our friends would like to get together for dinner then. They all want to meet you and to congratulate Naruto."

Kagome's eyes lit up. "That sounds like fun. But …" She looked down at Naruto's face. "I can't ask him to give up an evening of training just so I can meet his friends. He is so focused right now."

"Hmmm. He can't spend _all_ of his time out here. Leave it to me. I'll talk to Kakashi-sensei. Do you know where he is?"

"He said he needed to buy a book. Thank you, Sakura."

"No problem," she smiled and waved as she turned to leave. "Oh, and thank _you_ for looking out for Naruto. I'm glad he has someone who puts him first, for a change." _I couldn't be that person for him, so I'm glad you are._

…

For the next couple of days, Naruto continued to train until late at night, so Kagome slept in the field along with Kakashi, Yamato, and Shippou. She got up at dawn to shower and change into clean clothes, then went to the market to procure fresh food to fix breakfast. She went to Naruto's apartment to get him a change of clothes, along with some soap. He could always take a quick shower right there at the waterfall while she was elsewhere. As she looked around, she made a note to herself to come back in the afternoon to do a little cleaning and some laundry.

After everyone ate breakfast, she left to do a couple hours of training herself. She couldn't afford to let her own skills get rusty. Having purposefully dressed in a white, v-neck tank top with black shorts over mesh leggings, after deciding she didn't need the mesh undershirt and vest she normally wore for missions, and fixing her hair in a long braid starting at the nape of her neck so it wouldn't get in her way or be easy for an opponent to grab hold of, she was ready to go—all she needed now was someone to spar with. While Shippou and Miroku were always willing to work with her, they were both so concerned with watching over her that neither of them would _push_ her. She needed someone like Inuyasha, who would really try to kick her butt. So, when one of the Leaf shinobi came to the training field where the targets were, she introduced herself and asked him to spar with her.

Returning to the field where the waterfall was, Kagome was in good spirits, despite sporting a few visible, minor injuries. "Any problems?" she asked Yamato.

"Nothing yet."

"Miroku should be here with lunch soon. I'll watch him then."

"Sounds good." Then an unexpected visitor caught his eye. "What brings you out here, Genma?"

Kakashi eyed the tokubetsu jounin curiously, and upon noticing he, too, was sporting some minor injuries, his brow lifted in surprise.

His eyes on Kagome as she wiped the sweat from her brow with a small towel, Genma chewed on his senbon thoughtfully for a minute before answering quietly, "If that's the little gal that's going to marry Naruto, we're gaining quite an asset. I would team up with her for a mission any time."

"That's high praise. Or are you speaking euphemistically?" Raising a hand to ward off the glare directed his way, Kakashi chuckled. "So, you _didn't_ make a run at her before you realized who she was?" He chuckled again at the chagrined look on the man's face. "I take it you sparred?"

"Yes, and she sized me up pretty quickly and accurately. She has good eyes and she's tricky. I was going to take it easy on her, but she forced me to go all out. She has some surprising moves. Konohamaru saw us and he was asking her about those disappearing weapons of hers."

"Just be glad you aren't a demon and that apparently lust doesn't count as evil intent towards her or they could turn you to ashes."

"I'll remember that." Still watching her as she greeted the monk and took one of the baskets he was carrying, Genma said, "Where is this land she's from, and do they have more like her there?"

"Actually, she _does_ have an older sister."

The other jounin blinked at that. "Really?"

Just then, Kagome walked over to them. "Genma, this is Miroku. Miroku, this is Shiranui Genma. He was kind enough to spar with me. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Thank you, but I'm supposed to meet someone. Perhaps we can spar again sometime."

"That would be great! Thank you!"

"If you were wearing the mesh undershirt instead of that top, he'd have missed you every time," Miroku said in a loud whisper.

Nearly missing a step at the monk's words, Genma smiled to himself. _He's probably not wrong. _As it was, the deep v-neck of her shirt was entirely responsible for at least two of her shuriken hitting him.

…

"Kyuubi-sama, I'm not going away. Naruto is my intended, so you will have to deal with me sooner or later." The bijuu had refused to speak to her at all the last two times she had reached out to him when she dispelled the red chakra cloaks taking over two of Naruto's clones.

An angry roar in her head caused her to cover her ears, then she was knocked off the bridge by a rush of red chakra. "_**I will do no such thing!"**_

"Kagome!" The clone she had just touched jumped down after her, followed by four other clones. Kakashi and Yamato jumped up, and Shippou went running into the water.

Surfacing from under the water, the priestess sputtered for a few seconds, then laughed. "Ha! I _told_ you that you couldn't ignore me, kyuubi-sama!"

Naruto blinked at her. She was taunting the nine tails, and she wasn't the least bit scared or intimidated by him. He would swear she was almost _enjoying_ this. And why were his clones acting so weird down there? He jumped down to see for himself and immediately started blinking again.

"Kagome, you shouldn't go swimming in a white shirt," Shippou clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Especially not in Konoha. I'm telling you, this town is just crawling with perverts, like your slack-jawed fiancé."

"What?" Her brow furrowed, then she glanced down. "Oh! Give me your shirt!" She quickly crossed her arms in front of her chest. She just had to be wearing a thin, white bra, too.

"I'll take off my shirt if you take off yours—though you hardly need to," the fox teased her. "Then we can all blend in with this crowd of shirtless loverboy clones. Well, maybe you not so much. Instigating an orgy isn't really _blending in_."

Seeing Shipou toss his shirt to Kagome, Miroku called out, "Is this party 'pants only?' I feel so overdressed."

_Did the Tsukikage really leave these two to look after the girl? _Yamato looked over at Kakashi and got the uncomfortable feeling that the older nin wasn't as disapproving as he should be. Well, _someone_ was going to have to show Naruto how you were _supposed_ to treat a lady. He marched over and grabbed a blanket, then rushed over to the edge of the water so he could wrap it around her as she got out.

Kakashi's brow disappeared under his forehead protector as he watched his former ANBU subordinate. _Et tu, Tenzo? There's something about this girl. Do you see it, Naruto?_ Looking at the way the blond was still staring at his fiancé, he was seeing _something_ all right. The kid might not be the brightest, but he wasn't blind. "So, time for a break?"

…

After exploring the nearby forest and gathering some plants and herbs she could use, Kagome returned to the field by the waterfall. Naruto didn't take much of a break earlier, and she thought he would soon reach his strength's limit. She still couldn't believe he was able to maintain so many clones and expend so much chakra for as long as he did every day. She knew he was frustrated that he hadn't been able to cut the waterfall's flow yet, but Kakashi had told her that effecting a nature transformation would normally take _years_ to master. Naruto was just so impatient to get stronger. He was keenly focused on his goal, and while Kagome had to admire that, she also had to wonder where that left _her_. Right now, he was setting aside all plans for the future beyond bringing Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha.

She was glad she was able to help him with his training when it came to suppressing the nine tails, and she felt like she was making progress in her quest to communicate with the bijuu. She definitely felt like she was getting to know the kind of person her fiancé is, and she liked him. _But,_ she wished she was getting to know _him_ better. And she wished he were interested in getting to know _her._ She hadn't had many chances to just talk with him, and their interactions so far were limited to her suppressing the nine tails, making sure he had something to eat, and trying to make sure he was comfortable when he collapsed from exhaustion. (Though if she was honest with herself, she would have to admit to indulging her own need for some contact with him by sitting there and running her fingers through his hair with his head in her lap.) If the entire three months continues like this, she was worried about what would happen when Lord Sesshoumaru returned. She knew his word was his bond, but she also knew he was vindictive enough to seek his own justice if he felt someone had not dealt with him in good faith.

Miroku and Shippou looked over at her as she let out a soft sigh, so she smiled and waved off their concern. Honestly, they both acted like a couple of mother hens sometimes. Their attention was caught by the arrival of someone they hadn't met yet. A young man with dark hair and very pale skin greeted Kakashi and Yamato.

"Hello. I just returned and thought I would check to see how Naruto is doing."

"As you can see, he's still working hard," Kakashi told him, getting to his feet. "Let me introduce you to some people," he indicated the three strangers sitting nearby, who also began to stand up.

"Sai, this is Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou. Sai is Naruto and Sakura's teammate."

They all bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you. Sakura said she was hoping you would be back soon."

Sai was curious about the three strangers, but he focused on the way the attractive young woman mentioned his pink-haired teammate. Obviously, they had already met and were friendly with each other. "Ah, I see Sakura has been bringing Naruto more of her special food pills," he pointed to the basket she had left. "He must really love her to eat those. Did he ask her for a date again?"

The only sound was Yamato's sharp inhalation of breath. Confused by the silence, Sai felt uncomfortable and pasted a fake smile on his face.

Suddenly, Kagome turned to face the waterfall. "Naruto." She took off, and everyone watched as she appeared on the bridge next to a clone who was already fully encased in a red chakra cloak. Touching him on the back, she dispelled the cloak, but she couldn't bring herself to try to talk to the bijuu at the moment. Maybe he _wouldn't_ have to deal with her.

Feeling her uncertainty, the raspy voice in her head taunted her,_ "Is something wrong, little priestess?"_

"Kagome-chan?" the clone clasped both of her hands, then disappeared. As the others began disappearing, she quickly made her way to the real Naruto's side just as he fell, and she managed to keep him from going over the side of the bridge. Kakashi was there instantly.

"I'm afraid my introductions were a bit inadequate."

Not meeting his eye, she let him get Naruto onto his back and left to spread out a blanket. When he lay Naruto down on it, she remained standing. "Please make sure he eats something for dinner when he wakes up." Then she flickered from view and was gone.

"She was able to suppress the nine tails' chakra. Who is she?"

Kakashi sighed. "I should have mentioned when I introduced her that she's Naruto's fiancé."


	5. Chapter 5

_Last time:_

Not meeting his eye, she let him get Naruto onto his back and left to spread out a blanket. When he lay Naruto down on it, she remained standing. "Please make sure he eats something for dinner when he wakes up." Then she flickered from view and was gone.

"She was able to suppress the nine tails' chakra. Who is she?"

Kakashi sighed. "I should have mentioned when I introduced her that she's Naruto's fiancé."

Unwanted Chapter 5

It had been a wonderful day. He had spent all afternoon just watching the clouds the way he used to when he was younger. He was glad Kagome had reminded him of this perfect spot. He was even more glad today was his day off, and he had managed to avoid _everybody_. No Hokage giving him orders, no blonde teammate nagging him to do something, no beautiful, mysterious fiancé of his friend needing to be followed-no _women,_ period. Because women were troublesome. Yes, today had been perfect.

Until now. Groaning, Shikamaru sat up and looked around. Someone was here, and he just knew whoever it was, was about to cause him trouble. No one approached, though, and that made him suspicious. "You may as well show yourself. I know you're there."

He saw a small shadow detach from the line of trees and take a few steps in his direction before stopping. _No, no, no. She's in the top 3 of my list of people I don't want to have to deal with today._ Sighing to himself, the lazy nin stood up and walked over to her.

"Is there something I can help you with, Kagome?"

"No. Actually, I was feeling the need to meditate a bit or possibly even perform a ritual purification, but …"

"I can leave so you can have some privacy."

"No, it's not that. I can't … I can't even go over there right now," she said, sitting down in the grass and gazing at the waterfall sadly. "How pathetic is that? A priestess who can't enter her own sanctuary."

Intrigued by her words, he had to ask, "Why can't you?"

"There's too much bitterness in my heart right now. I would taint it. So … I really don't know what to do. I can't go raging through the woods, destroying everything in my path, and I refuse to sit around and cry about Fate, and life being unfair, but I need to do _something_ to rid myself of this bitterness." She clenched her fists tightly.

Sitting down next to her, Shikamaru asked, "Did Naruto say something stupid?" _Do I really have to watch him 24 hours a day, every day?_

"No. He's the one being wronged. Again. And I'm the one causing the problem. _Again_. I just can't believe it's happening _**again**__!_ I swear I must be cursed. How many priestesses do you know who are cursed?" She lay back in the grass and covered her face with her hands before moving them to massage her temples.

Looking down at the distraught woman, Shikamaru frowned. _I knew it was going to be troublesome._ "What happened?"

"We met Sai, and he was kind enough to let me know that the man I'm supposed to marry is in love with someone else."

Shikamaru winced. _Ouch! That's … bad._ "Sakura? You don't have to worry about her. She's …"

"She's in love with Uchiha Sasuke. I gathered that in less than five minutes of conversation with her. That's not the point."

"I'm afraid I don't understand then. You know she isn't going to interfere because she doesn't want him." Shikamaru was puzzled.

She heaved a deep sigh. "That doesn't change how_ he _feels. And she might not want to be with him _now, _but what if this Sasuske finds someone else? It's bad enough that Naruto is being forced into a marriage he not only doesn't want, but also that he didn't even know about. I thought that if he had some time to get used to the idea, it might still work. But, if he is in love with someone else … Well, that's a whole other problem. Just how much is he supposed to give up? I mean, seriously, now he can't even _try_ to win the heart of the woman he loves. And if he's forced to give up not only his freedom, but all hope for being with her, for _me, _then he's only going to end up resenting me. What did he do to deserve having no choices whatsoever in his own life? An Enjo-sha is supposed to _help_ her husband, not make his life miserable."

"So, you're angry on Naruto's behalf?" he asked in surprise.

"Of course! It's so unfair! But I'm angry for me, too. Knowing I'm being _forced_ on someone doesn't exactly make me feel good. Just because this marriage was contracted doesn't mean I didn't hope it would be a happy one. I thought my intended at least _wanted_ me this time. I thought he would be anxiously waiting for me and eager to get to know me." Her voice faltered a bit, and Shikamaru barely heard her whisper, "I really hoped we would be able to love each other."

He was quiet for a minute, then something she had said stood out to him. "Wait. _This_ time?

She hesitated before telling him, "I wasn't always the Enjo-sha. I … had a different future planned. When I was 12, before Midoriko summoned me and turned my life upside-down, my father died. I was a member of Sesshoumaru's private forces at that time because I had entered my training at an early age. Although he really isn't my guardian, Sesshoumaru arranged … a very advantageous marriage for me, to take place when I turned 18. As it turned out, my fiancé was in love with someone else. My becoming the Enjo-sha saved him from having to marry me. That was the main reason I agreed when Sesshoumaru decided I was the one who should have the title and the duties of the Enjo-sha. And here I am again, on the brink of ruining another man's life because he's being forced to marry me, too. So, yeah, I am feeling angry for Naruto and rather bitter for myself, and here in this strange land I can't even figure out where to go or what to do to purge myself of these feelings. I can't leave the village to travel to the Fire Temple for such a thing, there's no Midoriko's cave here, and I can't even enter the sanctuary I set up for myself without ruining it. Pathetic."

Shikamaru looked at her as she lay there with her eyes closed. In the waning light of the early evening, shadows from the nearby trees dappled her skin and disappeared in the inkiness of her hair fanned out around her on the ground, emphasizing the earthiness of her appeal. Unlike the nearly-transparent robe she had worn the night she consecrated her sanctuary, the clothes she wore now were not in the least bit enticing. Black shorts over mesh leggings and what appeared to be a plain brown, oversized man's t-shirt. Nothing ethereal that hinted of otherworldly powers or delights. However, if he had thought she looked like a goddess in the moonlight, he knew now that the fantasy of an unattainable goddess could not compete with the flesh and blood of a real woman trained to fight, bound by duty, and hoping for love.

_I can't believe there are __**two**__ guys stupid enough not to want her when she was handed to them on a silver platter._ Beauty aside, if you could put such a thing aside, what really made her so appealing was her kind and giving nature. This was the second incident in the short time he'd known her where she had put aside her pride and considered things from Naruto's point of view and sympathized with his circumstances. Considering her _own_ circumstances, she was entitled to some bitterness, but she was trying to put that aside, too. The lazy nin stretched out beside her on the ground. "My sanctuary can be anywhere. When I get irritated, with people or with the general demands of life, I look up at the sky and watch the clouds."

Kagome opened her eyes and looked up at the sky. "Too bad it's starting to get dark."

"The clouds still float along in the darkness—you just have to look a little harder, and there are stars."

Turning her head, she stared at him for a minute. "You are a very wise man, Nara Shikamaru."

_Having to deal with Naruto and his fiancé for the entire three months is really going to be very troublesome._ But somehow, that thought didn't make him as tired as it usually would.

…

Kakashi and Yamato looked up when Shippou returned and walked back over to where Miroku was sitting. "Back so soon? I thought Kagome-sama would probably need to do the whole bit with a purification cleansing and all that."

Visibly agitated, the kitsune paced around. "Kagome didn't feel like she could enter her sanctuary without tainting it."

Miroku frowned. "That's not good. Where is she then?"

"She's just lying there in the meadow, with Shikamaru, looking up at the sky."

The two Leaf nin looked at each other in surprise.

"Hmmm. Shikamaru strikes me as a very insightful person."

"I couldn't hear everything they said, but I think he helped her to center herself."

"It's good to know she will have friends she can rely on here when we leave."

"I'd rather know she had a _husband _she could rely on,"the red-haired shinobi scowled at the still-unconscious jinchuriki.

"Now, now," Kakashi spoke up. "Naruto is very reliable. You can hardly blame him for having a crush on a pretty teammate when no one had ever told him he had a fiancé in the wings. He may be a jinchuriki, but he's also a healthy, normal teenager, with all the requisite hormones and confusion about women and _feelings_."

Turning to face the silver-haired nin, Shippou's eyes narrowed in irritation. "No one is blaming him for that, and I hope you don't think Kagome left here in a fit of petty jealousy or hurt feelings. She is extremely angry that he has been put in this situation and given no choice. However, he _is_ in this situation and he hasn't made any effort to reconcile himself to it. Practically everything Kagome has learned about him, including this tidbit about him having a prior attachment, has come from other people. She's doing everything she can think of to make things easier for him, including letting him continue to pursue this training without the added burden of forcing him to stop and spend time with her, even though that was the whole point of this three-month 'engagement.' She's too nice for her own good, and she's always the one who suffers because of it. A week has already passed, and three months isn't a lot of time. Lord Sesshoumaru will return and no amount of pleading from Kagome will turn aside his wrath a second time. The contract calls for a wedding to take place, but believe me, he wants more than that for her."

"Shippou …"

"No, Miroku. I'm not in the mood to keep playing games. They don't know enough about her. Before she became the Enjo-sha, Sesshoumaru wanted her to be part of his family. He knew Kagome was in love with his half-brother, so he arranged for them to be married when she turned 18. He thought that way he could always be sure she was taken care of. But that idiot, Inuyasha, thought he was in love with Kikyou. And Kikyou, who had enjoyed the prestige of being our country's latest Enjo-sha, saw her way out of having to fulfill the responsibilities that would make her leave her home and bind herself to a man with a bijuu inside him. She decided that being married to the brother of the Tsukikage, even though he's a half-demon himself, would be a much better deal than being the Enjo-sha. That's when she suddenly coughed up the information that Kagome had been born with that mark on her. She claimed she hadn't seen the mark clearly until then and so she hadn't recognized what it was. So when Sesshoumaru realized Kagome should have been the Enjo-sha, he approached her about it and she released both Inuyasha and Kikyou from their unwanted future marriages by taking on those responsibilities and took a chance that she could find happiness here with a husband who _did_ want her. The kami sure have a warped sense of humor to do this to her," he said bitterly as he turned and walked off into the forest.

Miroku watched him disappear into the trees, then turned to face Kakashi and Yamato. "He shouldn't have revealed all that, but since he did, I will add one thing to it. After Lord Sesshoumaru told Inuyasha that he would not be marrying Kagome and that he could marry Kikyou instead, Inuyasha realized Kagome was the one he really loved. Kagome doesn't know this, so please don't tell her, as it would only cause her pain. But Inuyasha let his infatuation with her older sister, which Kikyou encouraged, by the way, even though she was the Enjo-sha and she _hates_ demons, blind him to what he could have with Kagome.

And Shippou is right. Kagome is far too nice for her own good, and she is allowing Naruto to ignore her except when she is being 'helpful.' I don't actually think this 'crush' of his has to be a big problem. Sakura doesn't seem to be encouraging him and I think we've all seen his attraction to Kagome. He just needs to get to know her. It would be nice if he showed as much interest in her as some of his clones do."

Kakashi nodded. "You noticed that, did you? That's a very intriguing phenomenon. Truthfully though, I don't even think he still feels that way about Sakura. He has known where her affections lie for a very long time now. I think it's more a habit than anything else. It may also be his way of making it up to her that he hasn't brought Sasuke back yet. No one in the village, including his friends, had any trouble believing he had fallen in love with someone else because I think everyone, except maybe Sai, knows his crush is all smoke and no substance. I'll talk to him, though, to try to jumpstart that brain of his. His friends will be getting together tomorrow evening and they want to meet Kagome. Maybe if he sees how she will fit into his life outside of his training, he will start to think about this marriage differently."

…

Waking up and looking around, Naruto asked, "Where's Kagome?"

His sensei gave him an amused look. "Is the ground not as comfortable as her lap?"

Blushing profusely, he sputtered, "Wha … I don't … Uh …"

"She left you some food. I don't think she will be back tonight. Miroku and Shippou are gone, too. We should talk."

Taking some of the food Kakashi handed him, he frowned. Yamato was looking at him with a very stern expression. "Is something wrong?"

"How do you feel about Sakura?"

His eyes bugged out and he choked on the bite of food in his mouth. Of all the things his sensei could have asked him, he was _not_ expecting that one. "What … what do you mean?"

"Well, what I mean is that Sai told Kagome you're in love with Sakura. I wondered if it's true."

He choked again even though there wasn't any food in his mouth now. "I … I … you're kidding, right?"

Kakashi just sat there looking at him, while Yamato shook his head.

_Crap! This could not be happening!_ He had loved Sakura ever since they were in the Academy together. All this time, he had been trying to get Sakura simply to acknowledge his existence. Trying to get her see _him_ instead of Sasuke. He was always asking her to go on a date with him. She never did. She never would. He knew that. He wasn't stupid. But he had promised her he would bring Sasuke back. He would do anything for her. She was _Sakura._ She had that cute smile and those big, blue eyes. Wait. He blinked.

Kakashi saw the confused look on his face. _That's what I thought. He hasn't even thought about his feelings for her for a long time. He just keeps acting the same way because that's how he's always acted around her. And I'm betting he hasn't even thought about her since he found out he had a fiancé._ "Kagome was rather upset. She was very angry that you're being forced to give up the woman you love. I think she was also a little hurt."

"Damn it," he muttered. "I don't want her to be hurt."

"I know. Especially since having to give up Sakura because of this arranged marriage hasn't even crossed your mind, has it?"

"What?"

"_Has_ it?"

Naruto frowned. "I …" His brow furrowed even more. "I don't …"

"Well?"

"I don't guess I really thought about it."

"Exactly. Sakura isn't one of the reasons you've objected to this marriage. You should tell Kagome that."

"Are you crazy?! I can't talk to Kagome about Sakura!"

"You know, Naruto," Yamato chimed in, "Kagome didn't grow up knowing she was going to marry _you_, either."

"What? What does _that_ mean?"

"That means you should find out more about your fiancé," Kakashi told him bluntly. "You can start by getting together with all your friends tomorrow evening. The ones who haven't met her yet want to get to know her, and they want to congratulate you on your good fortune."

"No! I still don't know what to say to anyone!"

"Take her friends along. I'm sure they will be happy to answer any questions and fill in the blanks for anyone."

Yamato covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter.

"Just treat her nice. Hold her hand. Everyone thinks you two are in love, you know. And she and Sakura have already met, and Sakura said they got along fine. So, you probably don't have to worry about a catfight breaking out between them, unless Sai says something again," his sensei assured him, with an obvious grin under his mask.

Naruto groaned and closed his eyes. _Could this possibly get any worse?_

…

He hadn't been able to focus on his training that night, so he had actually stopped and gone back to his apartment for the first time in days. Which was clean. Someone had done his laundry, too. And there was even a little bit of food in the refrigerator. He sighed as he lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He knew _she_ had done it. What was he going to say to her when he saw her? Why in the world would Sai tell her he loved Sakura? Kakashi said it was just an awkward blunder, but _seriously?_ He needed to kick Sai's ass.

And Kakashi had asked him if he really did love Sakura. And suddenly, even though he hadn't had a single doubt for _years_, he wasn't so sure it was true anymore. And it didn't have anything to do with Kagome, really. He wasn't sure when his feelings had changed. Was it during the three years he was traveling with Pervy Sage? Was it when he returned and saw that nothing had changed between them? Maybe it was the last time he faced Sasuke.

He had promised Sakura he would bring him back to the village. Back to her. But when he had looked into Sasuke's eyes, he knew that bringing him back had become more than a personal goal—it was his life's _mission, _a precursor to becoming Hokage. And there was no room for failure. Sasuke wasn't going to come back for friendship, and he sure as hell wasn't going to come back for love when it had always been clear that he didn't love Sakura. No, Naruto had realized then that he had to bring him back for the sake of his soul. And he was going to have to fight the devil himself to do it. He didn't know what Orochimaru had done to him, but Sasuke wasn't the same guy who had left the village. He wasn't just hell-bent on revenge anymore—he was going to destroy anyone and anything that he thought was in his way, and he was going to destroy himself in the process. He had to save him. If he couldn't save Sasuke, someone he had always considered almost a brother, then he didn't deserve to be Hokage. And really, that was all he had focused on since then. He hadn't consciously thought about Sakura at all, even if he _had_ asked her to go on dates with him. Kakashi was right.

As he thought about it now, he realized he hadn't really thought about Sakura except in connection to Sasuke ever since he made her that promise. Maybe that was when he had stopped being _in love_ with her, and just started loving her as a friend that he would do anything for and who he just wanted to be happy. He _was_ going to bring Sasuke back, but that wasn't going to make her happy. She needed to move on. He had always kind of thought that if it came to that, he had a chance with her, but apparently _he_ had moved on and he hadn't even known it. And now, Kagome was here.

He sighed again and turned on his side, bunching up his pillow so it provided more cushion. And _that_ just made him think about the way she had been letting him rest with his head in her lap. It had only been the last few days, but he _had_ missed it when he woke up earlier this evening. She was really nice. She was doing all kinds of stuff to help him out and she wasn't bothering him about the marriage crap. Which, he knew he should be thinking about.

But, _damn it!_ Why did he have to get married _now?_ Why couldn't he take care of this business with Sasuke first? He couldn't wait or else Sasuke would be lost forever. If he got married, he'd have to spend his time doing whatever crap married people do and he'd never develop and master this jutsu. And he'd never get Sasuke to come back. And he'd never be Hokage. He just didn't have time for anything else right now. Maybe in a year. But maybe being engaged wouldn't be so bad. And Kagome was kind of …

His eyes glassed over thinking about her standing in that water with her long, dark hair in that thick braid hanging over her shoulder and that white shirt plastered to her skin. That shirt had been completely see-through! He could see … _everything!_ It's a good thing Pervy Sage wasn't there or Kagome would be starring in his next book.

Thinking about Kagome reminded him of his current problem. He didn't like the thought that she was feeling hurt because of him. What was he going to say to her when he saw her? Maybe Shikamaru was right. Dealing with women was troublesome.

…

When he got to the field in the morning, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou were already there with Kakashi and Yamato. They had a blanket spread out and they were all sitting around eating. Kagome motioned him over and started filling a plate for him. He shuffled over to her, keeping his eyes on the ground. When she handed him the plate, he caught hold of her arm and pulled her up to take a few steps away from the others. "Um … about what Sai said …" he began quietly. "I'm sorry."

She looked surprised, then her eyes took on a fiery glow. Her jaw clenched and she drew in a slow breath. "You should never have to apologize for your feelings. Did Shippou or Miroku say something to you?"

His brows drew together in confusion. _She's angry? At her friends?_ "No, they didn't say anything to me. Kakashi-sensei told me what Sai said. He said we should talk about it."

He saw the tension in her shoulders ease, and her eyes looked more warm than fiery. She nodded, "We should. But right now, you should eat. Are you planning to join your friends tonight?" At his nod, she smiled. "Good. We'll talk tonight. You need to focus on your training now."

_That … wasn't so bad._ He still wasn't sure how to talk about the whole Sakura thing with her, but later was always better than _now_, right?

"Good morning."

"Ah, Shikamaru! Good morning!" Shippou called out. "Thanks for escorting Kagome home last night—or should I say, this morning?"

Naruto turned to look at him. _Shikamaru brought Kagome home last night? She went somewhere without them?_

"Yes, thank you, Shikamaru-san. I understand you also stood guard for her when she felt ready to enter her sanctuary. Sesshoumaru-sama will be grateful," Miroku added.

Now Kakashi and Yamato turned slightly to look at him.

"Yeah, well, I was already there, so it wasn't a problem," he told them with a yawn. "I couldn't do anything about the ANBU, though."

"Perverts," Shippou declared.

Naruto blinked. _What the hell was going on?_

"They're just doing their job, Shippou. Would you like something to eat?" Kagome asked Shikamaru.

"We should all be so fortunate to have our job be to go watch women as they bathe," the kitsune muttered.

_What?! The ANBU were …?_

"Nah, I'm good. Are you almost ready to go? I saw Ino at the flower shop and she's planning to do some shopping this morning. She wants something new to wear tonight and wanted to know if you want to look around with her. I'll take you over to the shop when you're done, if you want."

Ignoring Shippou, even though she could feel her cheeks burning, Kagome answered, "That sounds great! Let me just put these dishes away."

"Sounds like you have plans, Kagome-sama."

"Shikamaru suggested I meet with Lady Tsunade this morning. I'll be back in a few hours. I'm sure Naruto will still be going strong when I return," she smiled at him.

"We may go do some exploring of our own while you're gone. I need to get a better sense of this village's boundaries."

"Well, you already know the Hokage's assistant's _rear assets_ are off limits," the redhead laughed.

"Miroku! Keep your hands to yourself!" Kagome warned him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kagome-sama. I am just a humble monk, wandering in a distant land with …"

"Just see to it that your hands don't go wandering, all right?"

"I am so misunderstood."

"Yeah, right. Let's go, Shikamaru. See you later, Naruto!"

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled. _She's meeting with Granny Tsunade and shopping with Ino? And Shikamaru is escorting her everywhere? And the ANBU are watching her bathe? What has been going on while I've been training?_

Seeing the disgruntled look on the blond's face, Kakashi exchanged a look with Yamato. _Ah, it looks like it may be good for him to see that she may be here as his bride, but she's not going to just be hanging around waiting to be at his beck and call whenever he's not training. He needs to see she's a regular person with a life of her own, too._ "It looks like Kagome is settling into life in Konoha."

"Yeah, I guess so," Naruto frowned a bit, then shrugged it off. "I need to get to it."

…

Knocking on the door to her apartment, Naruto felt … nervous. He had showered and changed into a pair of faded orange pants and a black t-shirt with the Leaf Village symbol on the front. _Weird. I guess this is what it's like when you take a girl on a date. Is it considered a date if the girl is your fiancé?_

"Come in. Kagome-sama is ready. Shippou is the one who is spending too much time primping."

"Shut it, monk! If you had beautiful hair like I do, you'd spend some more time on it, too," the kitsune said as he stepped out of the bathroom, wearing his long, red hair loose so it flowed down his back.

"Your hair _does_ look particularly attractive, Shippou. You should wear it down more often," Kagome told him as she walked up behind him. She reached out a hand and ran her fingers through it. "Silky."

"Nice outfit. Ino has good taste."

"Thanks. But how did you know Ino picked it out?"

"Because in all the time we've known you, Kagome-sama, you have never worn something that bares your shoulders. It's a charming look on you, don't you agree, Naruto?"

The blond shinobi hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she came into view. She was wearing a white peasant blouse with a ruffle at the top that rested off of her shoulders and a pale pink skirt that flared out slightly at her knees. Other than her shoulders being bare, it was a relatively modest outfit—not revealing even a hint of cleavage, yet emphasizing her abundant curves in a way that made him feel intensely aware of his own masculine instincts regarding her obvious feminine appeal. "Uh, yeah. You look really nice." _Nice? Did I say __**nice**__? I should have said __**beautiful**__._

"You know," Shippou looked at her appraisingly, "the effect would be more pronounced if you put your hair up or even just swept it over to one side. Or I suppose you could just get your shirt wet."

"I don't think she's going for that kind of look, Shippou."

"Why not? You should always stick with a winner," he joked.

"Can we go now?" the slightly embarrassed girl walked over to Naruto.

"Yeah." Remembering Kakashi's advice, he reached out and took her hand before heading out the door.

She almost stumbled as she looked at their clasped hands in surprise, while Miroku and Shippou exchanged a look behind their backs before following them out.

…

When they arrived at the Yakiniku Q restaurant, everyone else was already there, having arrived early because they were anxious to see Naruto together with his fiancé. "Over here!" Ino called to them from a large table at the back which had three braziers in it. "You can sit here, Kagome. Move, Shikamaru. You, too, Chouji. Let Naruto sit next to her." This caused a bit of shuffling around the table.

Miroku walked up to the end of the table and seeing Ino sitting on one side and Sakura across the table from her, he bowed to them. "I do hope this seat isn't already spoken for. I would consider myself the most fortunate of monks simply to sit here and bask in such beauty this evening."

"You must be Miroku. Kagome told me _all_ about you," Ino said, lifting a brow as she looked at him. "Just keep your hands in plain view."

"I can't _imagine_ what Kagome-sama could have told you to warrant such suspicions," he replied with a hurt expression on his face.

"Shizune warned me when I told her I had met you, too," Sakura let him know.

"Ah, that dear lady. Alas, we were but two ships who passed in the night, and now she cannot forget me."

"That's because your hand passed too close to the stern of her ship," Shippou reminded him, taking the other seat at the end next to him.

"You made a pass at Shizune? You're lucky Lady Tsunade didn't wallop you," Kiba laughed from the other end of the table. "She considers Shizune family and is very protective of her. I'm Kiba, by the way," he said to Kagome. "This is Akamaru," he pointed to his dog companion who was disguised as another Kiba so he could eat in the restaurant. "These are my teammates, Shino and Hinata," he pointed to his right.

"Pleased to meet you," Kagome said, bowing her head.

"Since you have dispensed with the formalities, I am Shippou and the monk is Miroku. And obviously, sitting over there next to Naruto is Kagome." Kagome smiled and waved at the ones she hadn't met yet.

Jumping up next to where Chouji was sitting now, a shinobi in a green, one-piece suit struck a pose and declared, "I'm Rock Lee, and my teammates are Neji and Tenten." He pointed across the table next to Shino. "We are very happy to be here to celebrate Naruto's extreme good fortune and the victory of youth over any and all obstacles!" He gave Naruto and Kagome a broad grin and a thumbs-up.

"Oh, Lee," Tenten groaned.

Kagome smiled at him and her eyes sparkled. "Thank you very much for such a charming greeting."

Naruto looked at her in surprise. Other people usually just backed away from Lee's enthusiasm.

"I hope you will excuse my forwardness, Lee, but Gai-san suggested I ask if you would be willing to work with me on my training. He said you are one of Konoha's premier taijutsu experts."

"Gai-sensei said that?" He burst into tears. "I will not let him down! I will be the best training partner ever!"

Still smiling, Kagome bowed her head slightly. "Thank you. If you are available tomorrow morning, Gai-san said Training Ground 10 would be a good place to meet. 9:00 o'clock?"

"Excellent! Nothing invigorates one's youth like a strenuous morning workout!"

"Can we eat now?" Chouji asked, eyeing the plate of meat on the table between him and Lee. "That pork is not going to cook itself."

"Chouji," Ino growled, but relented when she saw all of the guys freeze when they had started to reach out for some meat to put on the grills. "Fine."

"Kagome-san," a quiet, toneless voice spoke up from directly across the table, "I believe I owe you an apology for my words yesterday."

_Oh yeah. I need to kick his ass._ Naruto glared at his teammate.

Sakura and Ino looked at Sai questioningly, but Kagome just tilted her head. _He reminds me of Kanna._ "Just Kagome, please. And no, you don't. Making small talk with strangers can be very awkward. It will get easier as we get to know each other better," she assured him, as she reached out and placed her hand over the one he had resting on the table near his plate and gave it a gentle squeeze, causing him to stare at their hands and blink. Then she released his hand and turned to Naruto to ask him if he wanted some pickled daikon or cabbage. Several of the others were wondering what Sai had said to her, but it looked like the matter was settled.

"How do you like Konoha so far?" Sakura asked.

"What's not to like?" Miroku answered. "Konoha is filled with beauty as far as the eye can see," he looked around the table and made eye contact with all the girls, causing Hinata to blush and Tenten to blink a few times. "It's easy to see why the men here are so happy and content."

"I see what you mean about him, Kagome," Ino laughed. "But what do _you_ think of Konoha?"

"It's a lovely village. Everything is laid out so well. You have an amazing amount of training areas with different terrain for the shinobi and also some beautiful parks for everyone to enjoy. I'm glad your shinobi and civilians seem to get along without too many problems. I know that isn't the case in many villages, where there can be a lot of tension and resentment between the two populations.

And you have so many shops and vendors—I think you can find just about anything you could ever want or need right here. I haven't seen your hospital facilities yet, or what kind of provisions you make for the orphans and widows here, but Shikamaru said he would show me around some more tomorrow afternoon," she said, leaning back to smile at him past Naruto.

"You should let me give you a tour of the hospital," Sakura offered. "I'm working there part-time now while I study with Lady Tsunade."

"That would be wonderful! Thank you, Sakura."

"After lunch?"

"Perfect," Kagome agreed.

"What is your land like, Kagome?" Hinata asked quietly.

She smiled and her eyes took on a soft glow. "It's beautiful. And dangerous. We have tons of forests, like you do, but lots of hot springs everywhere, which I love. Like here, the villages are very far apart, but small communities dot the countryside. Most of the people are distrustful of strangers, unless you're an itinerant monk or miko. Bandits roam the land, along with every kind of youkai you can imagine. Witches often pose as peddlers to cause trouble, and there are always the kitsune who just like to spark mischief." She shot a look at Shippou, who gave her an innocent smile. "There aren't as many shinobi there. Most villages are protected by samurai. Sesshoumaru's father, the Great Dog General, was a mighty samurai warrior."

"Sesshoumaru is your Tsukikage?" Tenten interrupted. "I heard he is very handsome."

"Oh, he is!" Ino assured her. "He's very tall and elegant-looking, and has the most amazing silvery-white hair that hangs down past his, um, _stern,_" she grinned at Miroku.

"So, why doesn't he like Naruto?" Kiba asked bluntly.

Kagome drew in a breath and looked at Naruto. His eyes were wide and he was starting to look a bit panicked. _I don't know how to answer that._

Shippou leaned back and laughed. "No mystery there. Sesshoumaru planned for her to marry his brother."

Now Kagome's eyes widened and she made a small choking sound as everyone looked at her in surprise.

_Really? Is that what Captain Yamato meant? Was she supposed to marry someone else before she was the Enjo-sha?_ Naruto could see she was very uncomfortable with the subject and she was giving him an apologetic look. He reached over and clasped her hand in his—a gesture that was not lost on anyone—as he looked around the table and grinned. "Doesn't matter what he planned, now does it?"

"You're right, Naruto!" Lee slammed his fist on the table. "You managed to show him the passion of your youth and won him over!"

"Well, I wouldn't say he won him over," Shippou said slyly, "but for Kagome's sake, he gave him a chance."

Shikamaru looked at Kagome contemplatively. _She did say the Tsukikage had arranged an advantageous marriage for her, but she didn't mention it was with his brother. Very intriguing. And Naruto is playing along with the story everyone believes about them being in love. _A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. _ I wasn't sure he could pull it off, but he may actually like the idea that he has been cast as the daring, romantic suitor fighting for a chance to win her hand and free her from the plans of an overbearing guardian._ He lifted his glass in silent salute to the kitsune.

"What was your first impression of Naruto?" Tenten asked.

Kagome looked at him and he could see a hint of humor in her eyes as she smiled. He couldn't imagine how she would answer that. "Actually, he was being a bit rude."

He had to smile at that.

"That's Naruto all right! We don't have to ask what his first impression of _you_ was," Kiba said with a slight leer as he waggled his eyebrows at her.

With a blush suffusing her cheeks at the implied flattery, Kagome looked at Naruto again. "The truth is, apparently I made so little an impression on him that he didn't recognize me when we were formally introduced."

Shikamaru mentally revised his estimation of her and her teammates. All of them had struck him as much too open with their emotions to be truly effective at some of the more covert operations high level ninja might engage in. He realized now that they were all very adept at word play and spinning the truth to give a false impression. That way, an experienced interrogator would not detect a lie. They would certainly be effective at spreading misinformation. Their apparent openness inspired trust. He could easily see Miroku and Shippou working a crowd in a bar. The trick, he realized, was in the details. They provided the little details, but left the big picture up to the listener. He was impressed when Naruto followed her lead.

Smiling, he told them, "Yeah, she was dressed up like some kind of fancy china doll or something. I didn't really notice her standing behind the Tsukikage. The next time I saw her, she was dressed like a normal person. She must not have thought I was _too_ rude, because she followed me to watch me train. Isn't that true?" he turned to her with a smirk.

Kagome laughed. "It's true!"

The girls were all charmed with their story. It was much better and more believable than the idea that they had "fallen in love at first sight." And they were so cute sitting there smiling at each other!

Changing the subject, Neji spoke up, "You said there aren't many shinobi in your land. Is there some reason that most people choose not to send their children to the Academy? If your land is as dangerous as you say, it seems like they would welcome the training."

"We don't have an Academy. In order to receive education and training, you must be personally accepted as a student by a practitioner of the ninja arts. In order to do that, you usually must be presented by a sponsor. My grandfather and my father were both monks, and I was also born with reiki powers. So, I received my spiritual training at my grandfather's temple. However, my mother was a shinobi, so her clan sponsored me to receive training as a shinobi, also. I studied with Master Mushin, who was also a monk shinobi," Miroku told them. "Shippou is actually from a noble family, and while it is very unusual for them to sponsor someone of their social stature for shinobi training, I think they felt like Shippou needed the discipline."

Shippou grinned widely. "Pretty much. I studied with Master Karan, who was a member of the Special Forces group known as the Four Heavenly Kings. But Kagome had the most interesting Masters, which is how she came to Lord Sesshoumaru's attention in the first place. Since her father ..."

"Shippou, there's no need to bore them with that," Kagome cut in, looking down at the table.

Looking at her closed-off expression, Shippou drew in a deep breath and nodded. "Right. Well, Kagome didn't have a sponsor, so at the age of 5, she just attached herself to the leg of one of the most fearsome shinobi in our village, Suikotsu. She was fortunate to catch him when he was in one of his rare good moods, and he thought she was so adorable that he took her in to be taught by Sesshoumaru's Special Forces group, the Band of Seven. They're rather notorious in our land, and Sesshoumaru only uses them for absolutely dire situations. They had never agreed to train anyone before. Heck, I'm not sure anyone ever dared _ask_ them for training before. Then when she discovered her reiki powers, she trained with … some premier spiritual leaders for that, too."

"So, if you have reiki and you're a monk, and Kagome has reiki, that means she is also a … priestess?" Shino asked.

Miroku nodded. "Yes. A very powerful one."

Most of them didn't know much about reiki, but spiritual leaders always commanded respect. However, Kagome didn't look like their idea of a priestess, and Miroku certainly did _not_ act like a monk. Their land must be very strange indeed.

"If all of the training is so individualized, do you still test to determine rank?" Neji wanted to know.

"We don't exactly have ranks the way you do. There are different positions you can request when your Master deems you ready and sends you to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru personally evaluates each shinobi and determines whether or not you are suited for a particular position. You can request a transfer to another group, if your abilities improve or if your personal circumstances change. For instance, if you decide to get married or start a family," he looked at Kagome pointedly. "Some of our shinobi are the Guard, who are responsible for security and enforcing the laws. There's the Village Guard and Sesshoumaru's Personal Guard. Most of the shinobi who are married ask to serve in the Village Guard. Some of the shinobi perform routine missions, like delivering information or items, security escort services, reconnaissance and information gathering, search and rescue, etc. They are the Ops. And some of us are Special Forces. Kagome, Miroku, Inuyasha, Sango, and I were the Band of Five. Now that Kagome is leaving, Sango has chosen to become the Captain of Sesshoumaru's Personal Guard. So, I suppose that leaves the rest of us as the Band of Three, unless Sesshoumaru forces us to work with Kouga."

"I don't think he will try to get Inuyasha and Kouga to work together. He doesn't have the patience for dealing with that," Kagome said with a smile, though the sadness in her eyes was apparent to everyone. She was going to miss her teammates.

Shikamaru spoke up, "The fact that they don't have ranks the way we do is why Lady Tsunade tested some of Kagome's skills today, when she offered her services to our village." Naruto looked at her in surprise. "Asuma-sensei, Gai, and Kurenai all assisted. She won't receive a headband or a rank until she is officially a citizen of Konoha, but Lady Tsunade may go ahead and send her out if a need arises."

"That's wonderful!" Ino clapped her hands together. "Maybe we'll get to work together some time."

"In that case, would you mind if I observe your training with Lee tomorrow?" Neji asked. "If we may be working together, I would prefer to have some first-hand knowledge of your capabilities."

"Don't be rude, Neji," Ino admonished him.

"Not at all," Kagome replied. "That makes perfect sense. And I'll be available for a couple of hours most afternoons if anyone would like to do some sparring."

"Very well," Neji nodded.

"I'm down for that," Kiba said with a grin.

"Two words, Kagome-sama: mesh shirt," Miroku winked at her.

…

After everyone had finished eating, Miroku and Shippou bid everyone good night as they headed off to check out one of the bars and Naruto and Kagome excused themselves because they would each be getting up early. As they said their goodbyes and stepped out of the restaurant, someone called Kagome's name. Sauntering over casually, Shiranui Genma took the senbon out of his mouth. "Hey there," he said as he stopped right in front of her.

"Hi, Genma. Out for an evening stroll?"

"Something like that." He surreptitiously looked her up and down approvingly from underneath hooded eyelids, then glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and saw the blond frown at him. Letting a cocky grin replace his normally bored expression, he gave her his full attention. "I have some time available the day after tomorrow if you want to spar again."

"That would be great! Same time?"

"Sure. See you then." And he started to walk off, but turned to look back at her.

"Thanks!" Kagome smiled.

_She sparred with __**him**__? And she's going to do it again?_

When she and Naruto had moved on, Kiba let out a whistle. "Whoa! What was _that? _ Did you see him eyeing her right in front of Naruto?"

"Was Genma's behavior inappropriate?" Sai asked.

"I think he was just yanking Naruto's chain," Shikamaru told him.

"Like a joke?"

"He was trying to get a reaction out of him," Sakura explained. "Teasing."

"You girls always think Genma's just teasing. I'm telling you, he's a _real_ dog. He's been with more women than the number of pork cutlets Chouji just ate."

Lee snickered at that. "That is a lot."

Chouji nodded in agreement, then asked, "Kagome's been sparring with Genma?"

"Just once."

Kiba turned and looked at Shikamaru suspiciously. "_You_ sure seem to know a lot about her. Just how much time have you been spending together while Naruto is training?"

"Oh come_ on_, Kiba," Ino hit his shoulder. "You know Shikamaru doesn't stir himself unless he has to. Lady Tsunade told him to escort Kagome and her friends around as a courtesy to the Tsukikage. Right?"

"Right."

"Hmmm."

A few of them lingered outside the restaurant for a few more minutes to exchange some more impressions of Kagome, and of her and Naruto as a couple. They had all noticed that Hinata hadn't stuttered when she had said good night to Naruto and congratulated him on his engagement. It was obvious that she was much more comfortable standing there next to Shino than she had ever been when she was around Naruto, and Shino had actually smiled down at her when she was talking to Tenten. As soon as _they_ left, they would be the next topic of conversation.

'Hey, I thought they said they had to get back to their apartments so they could get some sleep," Kiba said, pointing to the couple standing on the bridge leading into the nearby park. "That looks like a serious talk they're having. Think it's about Genma?"

"I think it's more likely they are talking about her taking on missions. Naruto seemed surprised by that news."

_Even when he's not using the Byakugan, Neji doesn't miss much._ Shikamaru thought his advice to Kagome had been sound. He hoped it wouldn't cause her more problems with Naruto.

"You told Granny Tsunade you'd go on missions for Konoha?"

"Yeah. It was Shikamaru's idea, actually. When I was feeling … well, _upset_ about our circumstances, he asked me what I would normally be doing during an average day at home. As a shinobi, I didn't really spend a lot of time in the village, and when I _was_ in the village, I usually helped with the orphans or visited the widows and ran errands for them. Now that I know I'm a priestess and have been trained, I can help heal the sick and injured, too, if needed. So, he thought I should try to invest myself in Konoha like I did at home, instead of just sitting around waiting to be useful to you. Oh! I don't mean that like it sounds." She looked up at him earnestly and reached out to touch his arm. "I mean, _you_, and being helpful to you, _are_ the reasons I'm here, and I _want_ to help you all I can. But other than helping keep the nine tails at bay while you train, which you don't need very often, I 'm not much use to you right now. What you are doing is something only you can do. And you're doing great! Captain Yamato and Kakashi are both so impressed with your quick progress. But … _I_ need to do something, too."

He nodded at her. He hadn't really thought about her being part of Konoha. Honestly, he hadn't thought about her being _apart_ from him. Funny how quickly he had gotten used to thinking of her as belonging with him, when he still didn't want to marry her. He knew that wasn't right, but he couldn't help it. "Yeah. I can understand that."

"Thank you. And … I'm sorry you got ambushed by what Shippou said. An Enjo-sha is raised knowing she is intended for someone, but … I didn't know."

"So, you really _were_ engaged to marry your Tsukikage's brother?"

"Yeah." She turned away from him and looked off into the night. "I fell in love with Inuyasha after we formed the Band of Five. Sesshoumaru knew how I felt and when my father died, he thought that arranging for us to be married would be a way to make sure I was taken care of. He's always had a soft spot for me. I don't know why. But Inuyasha was in love with … Kikyou. Of course, she was the Enjo-sha, so there was no way they could be together. He was really angry at the whole situation, and who could blame him? Kikyou is so beautiful, and she has always had that elegant, refined air about her. And instead of the sophisticated and polished priestess he loved, he was stuck with her younger sister, the rough-around-the-edges, little girl shinobi who had trained with the rude, bloodthirsty Band of Seven. In his anger, he once told me he couldn't believe we were sisters because I was nothing like her, and some of the other shinobi told me I should try to be more like her if I wanted Inuyasha to love me. But I couldn't do that.

When Midoriko summoned me for the quest, she revealed that I was a priestess, and for the duration of the quest, she blocked my chakra so I would have to rely on my reiki. I was completely helpless at the beginning. Inuyasha was the first of my friends allowed to join me and help me. He protected me while I stumbled my way through everything. I thought maybe it was a sign that Sesshoumaru had done the right thing in arranging our marriage and that it would work. But Inuyasha was just as in love with Kikyou at the end of the quest as he had ever been. Sango, Miroku, and Shippou thought I should try to fight for his love, but I didn't really know how to do that. Then Sesshoumaru told me I should have been the Enjo-sha, and that I was meant to marry a stranger—a jinchuriki in a distant land, who wanted and needed a helpmate. I was angry. I had still been hoping that eventually Inuyasha would come to see that I could make him happy. But, I knew then that I had to let him go."

"Are you still in love with him?" Naruto asked quietly.

She turned to face him again. "I still _love_ him, but no, I'm not _in love_ with him. I want him to be happy. I could never make him happy because I could never be like Kikyou. And I don't want to be. The same goes for Sakura. I really do understand what you must be feeling. You've been in love with her for a long time and suddenly you are being forced to give that up. It's like other people are always jerking you around and making all of the important decisions for you. I'm really sorry for that. And I'm not telling you that you should do what I did and let her go. Sometimes, you _do_ have to fight for someone. So maybe, this time,I _will_ fight … for _you._ However, I won't try to be like Sakura for you, because I can't be anyone else. I am just Kagome."

He stared at her for a moment and took a deep breath. "I was in love with Sakura for years, but I'm not any more. I want her to be happy, too, and I promised her I would bring Sasuke back. I don't think that will actually make her happy when it happens, but it's all I can do for her. The rest is up to her. So, I don't want you to be like Sakura for me, because I think I like Kagome just the way she is."

Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, she blinked rapidly as she returned his steady gaze. Reaching up, she touched his cheek lightly with one hand as she rose up on her toes, and he leaned down slightly until she pressed her lips briefly against his other cheek.

It was over all too quickly, and he straightened up as she pulled away slightly and set her heels back down on the ground. Before she could step back, though, he encircled her waist with one arm, putting his hand on the small of her back, while the other one went around her shoulder so he could place his hand on the nape of her neck. As he pulled her closer to him, her hands came up to rest on his chest. Leaning down, his lips met hers in a soft, slow kiss.

Kagome's gesture had been impulsive, so she was not prepared for his more deliberate embrace. Her lips parted slightly as she drew in a small breath and her eyelids drifted shut. Then he gathered her in even closer, so she was pressed up against him and her fingers curled and gripped the material of his shirt. The feeling of his lips moving over hers, so soft, yet with firm and growing intensity, was a bit intoxicating, and she felt lightheaded. When he broke the contact and leaned his forehead against hers, she could hear his harsh breathing, and she continued to hold fast to his shirt. She slowly opened her eyes when he raised up and they stared at each other, neither one sure what to say for a moment. Then Kagome felt his hand slide down her back and over her hip and his eyes took on a certain gleam. "Your edges don't feel so rough to me," he said with a grin.

She blinked at him, then a slow smile made her eyes light up. "Thank you. That's certainly the most unusual compliment I've ever received."

He stepped back and took her hand in his. "Well, if you want a compliment, you smell good, too—like barbequed pork."

She blinked again and started laughing. "I suspect we all smell good then. We must have grilled enough pork to make a whole pig."

...

Sakura blushed as she looked away from the couple on the bridge. "Oh my! That was not something I ever expected from Naruto."

"Well, then. I guess they settled whatever they were discussing," Kiba grinned. "Quit crying, Lee!"

"But it's so beautiful! Naruto is even more youthful than I thought he was!"

"That really looked like the sweetest moment," Ino sighed. "I think I'm jealous."

"You want Naruto to kiss _you_ like that?" Chouji asked her with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, you idiot!" she yelled as she hit him. "I was referring to how nice it would be to have someone to share a moment like that with. Although …" She stopped and looked back over at Naruto and Kagome as they walked off into the night. "I never really noticed how broad his shoulders were before."

_Naruto isn't as stupid as a lot of people think he is, and she may get people to start looking at him differently._ Yawning, Shikamaru made his escape. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since the Enjo-sha had arrived.

…

End Chapter 5

...

A/N: Well, I didn't get to the scene I wanted in this chapter, so there's no real 'action,'-its mostly background and a little relationship building. Sorry about that. It took longer than I thought it would simply to make sure all the characters had met Kagome. The Naruto universe has a huge cast of main characters! I also wanted to get the prior Inuyasha/Kagome engagement out in the open. Please forgive me for indulging my love of telling the same story differently for different audiences or from different POVs. Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to check out this story! Just a heads-up that I will not be strictly following the canon story/timeline. I picked a point in the Naruto story to start from, but I think that throwing Kagome in there changes everything. So, the upcoming missions/fights/encounters will be different/new.

I will also share that when I'm writing, sometimes, things appear on the screen that I never intended to write. For instance, when I first started typing out Kagome's conversation with Shikamaru, this appeared:

Looking down at the distraught woman, Shikamaru frowned. _I knew it was going to be troublesome._ "What happened?"

"I'm guessing you already know that my fiancé is in love with his teammate."

"Sasuke? Yeah, we've suspected that."

SO, I already have a couple of scenes typed out for the next chapter, and I'm going to get busy with that now. Thanks for sticking with me as I stumble my way through this!


	6. Chapter 6

_Last time:_

"That really looked like the sweetest moment," Ino sighed. "I think I'm jealous."

"You want Naruto to kiss _you_ like that?" Chouji asked her with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, you idiot!" she yelled as she hit him. "I was referring to how nice it would be to have someone to share a moment like that with. Although …" She stopped and looked back over at Naruto and Kagome as they walked off into the night. "I never really noticed how broad his shoulders were before."

_Naruto isn't as stupid as a lot of people think he is, and she may get people to start looking at him differently._ Yawning, Shikamaru made his escape. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since the Enjo-sha had arrived.

Unwanted Chapter 6

"Kyuubi-sama, you're a pitiful excuse for a kitsune! Can't you come up with something else to do? I even wore my bathing suit this time!" Kagome yelled from the water. This was the third time in as many days he had knocked her off the bridge.

"_What's this? She thinks she can insult me now?"_ the nine tails snarled in Naruto's head.

"Uh, Kagome, you're making him mad," the blond told her as he leaned over the bridge.

"Good! I may just give him a zap next time," she said as she wiped the long strands of hair off of her face. _I should have left it braided._ Peeling off her shirt as she stepped out of the water, she proved she was telling the truth: she had a black bikini on underneath her clothes. The nine clones following her out of the water fell back with a splash before Naruto dispelled them.

"Kagome-sama, I have a new suggestion for the next time you spar with Genma."

Naruto frowned at the monk as he landed on the ground next to Kagome. Touching her shoulder, he said, "Maybe it's not such a good idea for you to keep trying to talk to the nine tails. I don't want him to hurt you."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she smiled at him.

Putting his other hand on her other shoulder, he looked her straight in the eyes. "No, you don't understand how vicious he is. I don't want him to try to take over and make _me_ hurt you."

"Oh." She looked at him for a moment. "Did he say something to you?"

"Not really, but I just feel … uneasy."

Kakashi looked at Naruto carefully. Kagome might be confident of her ability to stop the nine tails, but Naruto knew him better than anyone. Or was his new concern merely due to the fact that he had decided he liked his fiancé after all? He had seen the difference in the way the two looked at each other ever since the night they had dinner with his friends. Whatever the case … "Perhaps you should take a break for a couple of days, Kagome. Let Yamato handle it."

Kagome frowned and opened her mouth to argue.

"Sounds like my timing might be perfect."

"Hello, Shikamaru. What brings you out here today?" Miroku asked.

"The Hokage wants Kagome to be the fifth man on a search and rescue mission with us and Kiba. Asuma-sensei just left on a mission, so I'll be in charge. We're leaving in half an hour."

"I guess I'd better change then. I'll meet you at the gate."

"Good. We need to get going. Time is of the essence in a situation like this," he said, handing her a scroll and heading back the way he came.

"What? You're leaving _now?"_ He hadn't thought she would be going out on missions so soon. The day after their dinner with everyone, everything had seemed to go on the same as it had before. He knew she was training with Lee in the mornings and doing some sparring in the afternoons, but she was always here with three meals a day for him, and she seemed to be here every time he had reached his limits and the nine tails started leaking through. He had even woken to find himself with his head in her lap twice. But in the entire four days since he had kissed her, they hadn't really had any time _alone_ together. He had planned to quit for the day early today and see if she wanted to go get some ramen for dinner. Damn it! She was standing right in front of him in shorts and a _bikini top_ and he hadn't even had time to appreciate it yet.

With those thoughts whirling in his head, he heard her saying, "Well, this way you don't have to worry about me riling up the nine tails for a few days." Putting a hand on his shoulder, she quickly raised up on her toes and gave him a brief kiss. In front of everyone. All right, so it was really barely even a kiss, but still. It was _in front of everyone._ That meant something, right? She liked him. Right? Was it weird that he wanted his fiance to like him? Then she looked into his eyes and squeezed his hand. "I'll come here when we get back."

"Wear the bathing suit," he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I told you he was a pervert!" Shippou laughed.

"Hush, Shippou," she admonished him, while her cheeks rapidly turned red. "You two make sure he has some good food to eat."

"_Both_ of us, Kagome-sama? Shouldn't one of us go with you?" Miroku asked.

"No. I'm going on a mission for Konoha as a potential citizen here. You can't go. Now stop acting like I haven't completed a mission without you holding my hand before or you'll make everyone here lose faith in me. Then I'll have to have Jakotsu-sensei kick your asses when you get home. And he doesn't like you two as much as he likes Inuyasha."

Suppressing a shudder at the thought, Shippou persisted, "Lord Sesshoumaru will have our heads if anything happens to you."

"All three of you are a bunch of old ladies, and yes, you can tell him I said that," she smiled and waved as she hurried off.

"_I'm_ not going to tell him that. How about you, Miroku?"

"I think not."

"What are you thinking, senpai?" Yamato asked, seeing the way Kakashi's brow was furrowed.

"I'm just wondering why Lady Tsunade is sending a 5-man team, and placing Kagome and Kiba with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino on a search and rescue mission instead of sending Team 8. They're all available right now."

Naruto, who had been watching the sway of Kagome's hips as she walked away, spun around and looked at him. "That's right. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata usually do the tracking and searching, don't they? You don't think it's a normal search and rescue mission?"

"I know Lady Tsunade is very deliberate when it comes to the teams she sends. I'm thinking she already has a pretty good idea of where they need to go. It must be more of a rescue operation. Since she's sending Shikamaru, she must be anticipating the need for some quick thinking."

Naruto frowned. "Chouji provides some muscle, but Ino's specialty is best used when facing an opponent. They're not going to rescue someone from an accident. It seems more like a hostage situation or something like that. So, why is she sending Kagome?"

Kakashi gave him an approving look. He might not be able to learn by verbal instruction as well as most people, but no one could fault his analytical and tactical skills when it came to understanding how to get a job done. He knew his friends and their abilities quite well, too.

"Pardon me for saying so, but If I were to guess, considering Kagome came here as an Enjo-sha, whose priestess abilities are needed more than her shinobi skills, I'd say the mission has a spiritual or supernatural component," Shippou suggested. "Or your Hokage anticipates severe injuries."

"If it was simply a need for healing abilities, she would probably send Sakura. And Ino serves as a medic nin for Team 10, though she's nowhere near as skilled as Sakura," Naruto told him. "Something supernatural, huh?"

"Probably. And you really don't need to worry too much about her taunting the nine tails," Miroku said. "I've seen Kagome-sama yell at a dragon. Of course, we all had to run like hell then, but we're still here," he smiled.

_A dragon? I can never tell when these guys are kidding._ "You're all crazy."

...

"Did everyone read the mission's objectives?" Shikamaru asked as they traveled through the trees.

"Yeah," Chouji said. "This sounds like a weird one. We need to find and rescue one of our Leaf nin who was captured by a novice monk when he was escorting a group of them to the Daimyo's Palace."

"The scroll didn't mention any names. Who is it?" Kagome asked.

"Shiranui Genma," Shikamaru told her.

"Genma? I just sparred with him two days ago."

"I know. The whole story is that Genma and Tatami Iwashi were supposed to escort a group of four novice monks from the Fire Temple to the Daimyo's Palace. When they got near the Leaflet Caves, the monks suddenly turned on Genma and Iwashi and attacked them. They killed three of the monks, then the fourth one grabbed Genma and vanished. Iwashi tried to find them, but he was injured, so he returned to Konoha for help."

"Does Iwashi have any idea why they attacked them or why they would want Genma?" Ino asked.

"No. He said they were supposedly bound by a vow of silence until their ordination. None of them said a word. Asuma-sensei went to the Fire Temple to find out more about them. One of the monks there is an old friend of his. Iwashi did say something else that we need to be on the lookout for: he said he thought there was someone else there when the monks turned on them. So, even if we find Genma and the monk, we need to stay alert in case the monks had an accomplice or someone they were working for," Shikamaru warned them.

"So, we're going to rescue Genma and bring in the monk for questioning," Kiba said.

"Well, I guess I know why Lady Tsunade decided to let _me_ come along. Who better to catch a monk than a priestess?"

…

It had been mid-afternoon already when they left, but even though they weren't overly tired, Shikamaru insisted they stop for a few hours late that night, and grab some sleep in two shifts. He wanted them to be as rested as possible and ready for anything when they got there, all the while being aware that the sooner they found Genma, the better. They were on the move again before the sun rose and they traveled most of the day, making only one stop to rest and eat before arriving at the caves late that afternoon.

Kiba and Akamaru immediately began searching the area. "There's no sign of the three monks Iwashi said they killed, but there's blood over here."

"It makes sense that the monk must have taken Genma into one of the caves, but which one? Check the entrances for any hint of Genma's scent," Shikamaru told him.

"There's so many of them," Ino commented, looking around. "This could take a long time."

"I can feel three auras in this direction," Kagome pointed to a group of caves to the West. "No, _four._ Two are fairly near, one is a little farther away, and a very faint one much further down."

Shikamaru frowned. "Looks like Iwashi was right. We have no idea what these other two people are capable of, so let's proceed with caution."

Kiba knelt down next to Akamaru in front of one of the caves. "Maybe this one. Genma's scent is right outside it, but then it just disappears."

"Wait," Kagome walked over to him. "There's a barrier across the entrance."

"Really? I don't see anything," Chouji said. He took a couple of steps and was thrown backwards.

"Chouji! Are you okay?" Ino ran over to him.

"Yeah," he said as he sat up and shook his head from side to side a few times. "I sure wasn't expecting _that."_

"It's reiki," Kagome said as she walked through it. "If he raised it so quickly, while dragging Genma inside, he probably anchored it to something. Here!" She pointed out a kunai sticking out of the wall right inside the entrance. With a pale pink glow surrounding her hand, she grasped the kunai and pulled it out. "Okay, it's gone."

"Can anyone with reiki pass through someone else's reiki barrier?" Shikamaru asked her.

"Not necessarily. Depending on the ritual used, if you have enough time, it is possible to make a barrier that repels people with particular attributes—even other reiki users. But, if a reiki user is powerful enough, he can generally pass through most of them."

_She didn't even bother to test it before just walking through._ That was telling. Miroku had said she was the most powerful priestess born in their land in the last thousand years. Perhaps he wasn't exaggerating. He would leave the monk to her and concentrate on the two unknowns. "When we find them, you get the monk. Ino will see to any injuries Genma may have. Chouji. Kiba. We must be alert for any interference from the other two. Our objective is simply to bring Genma and the monk back, so let's try to avoid any other trouble, if at all possible."

As they entered the cave, they moved along silently. About twenty-five feet in, the passageway was lit with torches and the flickering light cast eerie shadows on the walls and floor. They hadn't gone far when the cave split in two directions. Kiba pointed to the left. He and Akamaru had picked up Genma's scent as soon as Kagome had dispersed the barrier. Kagome nodded and signaled that there were still only two people nearby, and she could tell one was Genma and that the other one was a reiki user. She passed Kiba and took the lead. Ino stayed behind him and Akamaru, with Shikamaru and Chouji bringing up the end.

Up ahead, they could see where the narrow walls of the cave opened up into an area the size of a large room. Across the opening into the wider area was a shimmery purple barrier. Kagome paused briefly to look into the room. The ceiling of the cave wasn't very high. She saw Genma tied to a chair and seemingly unconscious, no more than ten feet into the room, with a monk seated on the floor in the lotus position facing him with his back to the barrier. Shikamaru motioned for her to wait. There was no point in her having to fight with the monk if Ino could easily subdue him without it. He nodded at Ino and stood ready to hold her body up as she performed the Mind Transfer jutsu, but after a minute, she shook head in frustration. "I can't go through the barrier," she whispered.

Kagome quickly stepped through the barrier and approached the monk. He barely had time to turn his head towards her when she placed glowing hands on his shoulders and ribbons of pink light shot out and wrapped around him, binding him tightly. He continued to stare straight ahead of him, not saying a word. Satisfied that he was out of the way, Shikamaru asked Kagome, "Can you dispel this barrier?" He and the other four members of the team, plus Akamaru, still stood on the other side.

"This one is different and very specific," she pointed to some runes written on the floor in front of it. "It was made so other reiki users could easily pass through to come in, but no one except the one who made it should be able to get out. This is no novice monk."

"Can _you_ get out?"

"Yes, but It would have kept Genma in here even if he had overpowered the monk. I can dispel it, but it will take about ten minutes of focused concentration and energy. Let me see to Genma's worst injuries and I think I know a way to get him through it quicker than I can dispel it."

"Hurry."

Nodding, she quickly formed a kunai from her reiki and cut the ropes holding Genma to the chair. He slumped, but seemed to revive a bit. Standing in front of him, she caught him against her and looked over his injuries. He was shirtless and his forehead protector was missing. She wondered if he had been tortured, but she couldn't imagine the monk doing it. Touching several deep gouges in his back, they quickly closed. Sitting him back up, she looked at his chest and arms as he groaned, healing several small cuts and punctures before resting a glowing hand over a huge bruise that indicated potential broken ribs.

Slowly coming to, Genma looked at the woman who was tending to him for a minute before his wits returned. Then he cursed and grabbed her hands. "Damn! I never would have thought she'd actually send _you_, little darlin'. Get out of here—it's a trap!"

Shikamaru and the others tensed at his words, but Kagome just blinked for a second. "Can you walk?"

"My leg's busted. Go on! _You're_ the target!"

"Someone's coming," she told the others as she placed a glowing hand on Genma's leg.

"Come on, Kagome!" Kiba yelled.

"Damn it. I knit the bone back together, but I don't have time to heal the muscles and tendons around it."

"So, Konoha really does have a priestess. Orochimaru will be pleased. Is the rest of it true, as well?" a low voice drawled from the shadows.

Genma stood with a grimace, and placing himself between Kagome and the newcomer, spat out, "Stay back, Uchiha."

"Sasuke?" Ino whispered, not quite believing her eyes.

_Well, shit. We're not prepared for __**him**__._ Shikamaru had already processed the fact that Orochimaru had set a trap for the Enjo-sha. He had to give him credit for it, but it wouldn't have worked if _he_ hadn't suggested that Kagome go ahead and offer her services as a shinobi to the village, because she and Naruto hadn't married as planned and she wasn't a citizen of Konoha yet. So, Orochimaru didn't know that. Yet. Was that to her benefit or not? _It depends on what Orochimaru plans to do with her._

"We have no further need for you," Sasuke said, as he moved forward in a flash and his sword pierced Genma's side. Then he kicked him, knocking him to the ground, but he wasn't expecting the blow from a pink, glowing bo staff that hit him in the jaw and forced him back a few steps.

The small woman facing him reached down and touched Genma with a hand that glowed as pink as the bo. Suddenly, the Leaf nin was covered from head to toe with that same pink glow.

"You should be able to get through the barrier—go!" And then she stepped between him and Sasuke just like he had done previously for her.

Putting a hand to his jaw, Sasuke smiled. Maybe this wouldn't be as boring as he'd thought. He hadn't been particularly interested in the woman when Orochimaru told him about Naruto's new wife, though he was intrigued that Naruto had allowed the village to make such a sensible arrangement for him since he was such an idiot. But the snake sannin had insisted they would be able to use her power. And now the priestess thought she could stand up to him? He would gladly teach her a lesson.

Taking a good look at her, anger roiled in his gut. Everything always worked in that bastard's favor, didn't it? Naruto was a complete idiot, and yet he always came through at crucial moments. Now he had been handed some foreign beauty with reiki powers as his wife. And he couldn't deny she _was_ a beauty. She had taken a defensive stance in front of Genma and her intensely blue eyes glowed as much as that strange bo of hers. She was dressed in black, with form-fitting, knee-length pants and a black mesh shirt underneath an open black vest. When he had first seen her standing behind Genma, he had thought they had sent Naruto a child bride. Now he could see that her small stature only enhanced her womanly figure. Her hair was as dark as his own, and it was pulled back, away from her face, and fell in a long, twisting braid down her back. Her features were delicate, and he would have even said she was fragile-looking, if not for the look of steel in those interesting eyes. He saw the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Kiba and his mutt on the other side of the barrier. Instead of simply capturing Naruto's wife, maybe he would send him a message as well.

Seeing Genma struggle to get up and then hesitate as he looked at Kagome's back, Shikamaru told him, "Genma, come on!" With his injuries, he couldn't help her. Studying the room as he reached out a hand to help the man as soon as he fell through the barrier, he took note of the slim opening in the wall at the back of the room that Sasuke must have come through and saw the light from the torches was flickering wildly there. "Ino, take care of him." He could see that the reiki Kagome had covered Genma with had dissipated when he came through the barrier. Turning his attention back to the two on the other side of the barrier, he knew they needed a back-up plan in case Sasuke kept her from coming out this way. If there was wind this far back, then there was another way to enter the cave. Quietly, he said, "Kiba, Chouji. There's another opening on the far side of this cave. Find it. Quickly." They might have to go in the other way to get to her. He looked down at his shadow.

Sasuke frowned when he saw Genma pass through the barrier. Orochimaru had told him that the barrier the monk had made would trap anyone who came in. If Genma could pass through it because of the reiki she covered him with, then _she_ could pass through it. He would have to keep her away from it. Orochimaru didn't want her injured, but …

Attacking with a flurry of strikes, Sasuke was able to manipulate her into moving where he wanted, so he was between her and the barrier, but she had been able to move fast enough to block most of therm. So, she actually _was_ a kunoichi as her clothing suggested, as well as a priestess. One thin line of blood appeared on her right shin. "Does Naruto appreciate you?"

He rushed at her and the steel of his blade made pink sparks shoot off her bo when he made contact with it. She blocked his overhead strike and immediately swept one end of her bo towards his torso, which he avoided by jumping back. But just as quickly, she reversed the trajectory and slid her grip down the bo to one end to lengthen her reach as she swept it in the opposite direction. The bo barely grazed his side as he flipped further back. He smiled again, surprised but pleased that she had read his movements and adjusted her own counterstrike almost successfully.

"You want to talk about my fiancé? I imagine you're relieved I showed up without him."

The idea that she thought he would be _relieved_ not to be facing Naruto infuriated him for a minute and when she blocked his next strike with his sword, he caught her with a backhanded jab. The satisfaction he felt at seeing the small trickle of blood from her lower lip increased when he realized what else she had said. "So, he _doesn't_ appreciate you, if he hasn't married you yet. Or is he waiting for me to come back and be the best man at his wedding? Sounds like something that fool would do. He should have staked his claim while he had the chance."

_Damn it!_ Shikamaru didn't like the tone of Sauske's voice or the gleam in his eye when he said that. "Why don't you just come back to Konoha with us, Sasuke, and you can ask him yourself."

"I've got a better idea," he said as he flashed behind her and cut the tie holding her braid before landing a kick to her ribs which knocked her off-balance before she rolled and flipped away from him. "I'll just keep his fiancé and let _you_ go back and ask him. Of course, then I suppose he'll want to fight me again, but that's really the only way to end this." He looked at his left upper arm in shock. Where had that pink shuriken come from? And where did her bo go? He dodged three more shuriken.

"Even if you were at the wedding, he'd still be the best man there. The next time you two face each other, you will have to admit you're wrong. Are you ready for that?" Kagome asked him. Tossing two more shuriken to his right, she met him with a roundhouse kick when he dodged to his left, connecting with the spot where the first shuriken had hit him. He grunted, but resisted the urge to put a hand to the wound. He hadn't planned to use the Sharingan against her, but maybe it was time to get serious. His eyes turned red.

_Shit. Does she know about the Sharingan? She won't be able to get past him to get through the barrier._ Moving quickly through the hand signs, he tried to send his shadow into the room, but it simply disappeared at the barrier. _The reiki must be able to block the chakra used to manipulate it._

"Are you ready for _this?"_ Sasuke asked. She quickly summoned a pair of glowing pink sai to her hands, but another thin line of blood appeared on her right shin, along with two slashes across the side of her left thigh and one on her left arm. A thick strand of her hair hung over her shoulder where he had grabbed it and shaken it out of her loosened braid.

Glancing down briefly, she narrowed her eyes at him. "These were my favorite pants." _Damn it. He's too fast, and he's just playing with me. He hasn't even unleashed any ninjutsu yet. I know it would be dangerous in an area this size, but somehow, I don't think he'd care about that if he decides he wants to kill me. I need to get out of here._ She looked over at Shikamaru. She could tell he was thinking furiously. She was going to have to make a run for it before he or one of the others put themselves in danger like Genma had done to try to help her.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he laughed. She was unpredictable. She was not as good with the sai as she was with the bo, but she had managed to hold off his sword when he'd intended to cut her across her abdomen. However, she simply lacked the physical strength to continue to hold him off that way. And she couldn't keep him at a distance with them. Apparently, she knew it, too, because the sai disappeared and she was brandishing a sword of her own now. She _was_ interesting. He watched her for a few seconds as she plotted her next move and lengthened her stance. "Naruto's a fool, you know. He doesn't know anything about true strength or power. You're wasted on him. I'll bet he hasn't even taken you to his bed yet, has he?"

After finishing the healing Kagome had begun on Genma's leg and working on the new wounds from Sasuke's sword, Ino had helped him up and they both stood next to Shikamaru to see what was happening. She gasped out loud at Sasuke's words. Would Uchiha Sasuke really say something like that?

"See if Chouji and Kiba have found the other entrance yet," her teammate said quietly.

At any other time, a comment like that would have thrown Kagome. But when she was facing an opponent, she often used the same tactic: to say things to provoke them or make them uncomfortable enough that they would make a mistake. "Would you like for him to give you some tips?" She spun to the left, but slashed right.

"Nice," he admitted, as he blocked the sudden attack, then swept her feet out from under her. He jumped back to avoid being hit by her sword as she unexpectedly swung it back at his neck as she fell. She immediately rolled to the side and flipped herself back up.

_Damn those red eyes of his!_ _How am I going to get by him? He's seeing my smallest movements and predicting what I'm going to do._

"I don't believe you. The blush on your cheeks gives you away. It's not surprising, though. Naruto has been playing 'catch-up' his whole life. He never does anything unless I do it first. So, perhaps I should do you both a favor and take you to _my_ bed." He attacked swiftly, striking from one side then the other in rapid succession, forcing her to take several steps back and allowing for no action other than defense. Using his forearm, he slammed her back against the wall and slid the tip of his sword under the bottom of her mesh shirt, slicing it all the way up over her stomach and chest and nicking the underside of her jaw. He leaned forward and licked the blood that had immediately welled up there, then jumped back out of her reach.

"Son of a bitch!" Genma breathed out, hitting the barrier and getting thrown back against the wall of the passageway.

"This … this isn't like Sasuke," Ino whispered.

"Sasuke isn't the same guy we knew back in the Academy. I think even Naruto knows that now." _If he doesn't, he's going to. Damn it! There's got to be another way to get her away from him, because waiting for her to have the opportunity to run may just be too late. Should I have Chouji and Kiba rush in there? They would most likely cause the whole place to collapse on top of them. And for all we know, the monk may have placed another barrier somewhere, so that wasn't the best option until it was the __**only**__ option. _"Have they found it?"

"Yes."

"Tell them to stand by. And tell Kagome to throw one of her kunai in front of me."

Ino looked at him in surprise, then nodded.

Blatantly letting his eyes roam over her newly-exposed flesh, especially the curves of her breasts now bare above her black bra, Sauske asked, "Was that your favorite shirt? It wasn't bad, but this view is much better. Naruto has his priorities all mixed up if he'd rather fight with me than enjoy that."

"From what I hear, you've got some pretty mixed-up ideas about things yourself." Kagome had never tried to combine her chakra and reiki in her weapons—they were always sufficient the way they were, but she didn't have much choice if she was going to get away from him. Her kenjutsu was pretty good, but his was excellent. She needed something more, but she didn't want to make the ceiling collapse on them. Charging directly at him, she sent her chakra into her reiki sword right as their swords clashed. The glow turned into a blinding light, then it exploded and went spinning out of her hand and the pieces disappeared in flashes of light, but the explosion had also caused Sasuke's sword to spin out of his grip. In his shock and anger, he instinctively grabbed the kunai from the holster on his thigh hidden by the blue cloth he wore and plunged it into her abdomen as he wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her in to it. Slightly mesmerized by the blue of her eyes as she stared into his, he sank down to his knees when he felt her knees give way. Laying her down on the floor, he pulled the kunai out of her flesh and dropped it beside her. He hadn't meant to cause her such a severe injury or he would have simply run her through with his sword instead of slicing her shirt open, but since he had, he would find out just how strong she truly was. With a quick intake of breath, she covered the wound with her hand, but didn't break eye contact with him. "Well, that didn't go as well as I'd have liked. Best two out of three?" she asked.

"Kagome!" Ino cried out.

Shikamaru was frustrated. _Damn it! I need one of her kunai!_

_Definitely unpredictable. _Straddling her hips, he placed his hand around her neck as if to choke her, then leaned over her, bracing his weight with one arm, and ran his thumb along her bottom lip, making the split he'd caused earlier bleed some more. Her long, dark hair covered the floor beside her and her pale skin took on a pearlescent glow in the torchlight. "You look more like an Uchiha bride lying here than the bride of someone who is determined to die by my hand. You can choose to go with me willingly and I'll give you the antidote to the extremely rare white serpent venom that was on my kunai." Sliding his hand from the front of her neck to the nape, he lifted her head slightly and kissed her.

"Sasuke, you bastard! Get off of her!" Shikamaru couldn't believe what was happening. And he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

Kagome realized what he was going to do a split-second before he did it, but she couldn't prepare herself for the reality of it. From the way he spoke and fought, she would have expected him to be every bit as mocking and ruthless when he kissed her, but he wasn't. His lips were soft and he pressed them to hers gently, almost tentatively, and slowly moved them in a deliberate caress. For a moment, she almost felt like he was looking for something or asking her something and the intimacy of it lulled her senses until she felt her eyelids drifting shut, almost sorry that she didn't have the answer. She tried to push him away, but the hand she had pressed over her wound remained trapped between them. When he raised his head, he stared at her for a second before sitting back up on his knees.

"So, are you willing to go with me and pass the time pleasantly, or do you want to keep fighting until the poison has completely spread throughout your system and the pain overwhelms you before you die?"

"That's quite a generous offer. I don't like spiders or snakes, but fortunately, I'm immune to their venom, and I heal quickly. However, if you like snakes … meet Jakotsudo." Her free hand started glowing and with a flick of her wrist, she tossed a kunai through the barrier directly in front of Shikamaru. Then, a huge broadsword appeared in her hand. With just a small movement, the sword suddenly appeared to lengthen and separate into at least 5o blades held together by metal pins as it snaked out across the room from her hand, and with another flick of her wrist they swung inward and wrapped around Sasuke, pinning his arms to his sides. With true regret shining in her eyes, she exhaled softly. "Naruto doesn't want to _fight with you_, you know. He's fighting _ for _you. I'm afraid this is going to hurt." Flicking her wrist outward, the blades ripped through his skin, spattering her with his blood as the unusual weapon uncoiled from his body and returned to its former broadsword shape.

The motion of the chained blades pulled him backwards and he couldn't contain a surprised cry of pain. At that moment, Shikamaru successfully sent his shadow through the barrier to snare him in his Shadow Possession jutsu. He hadn't been entirely sure it would work, but he was relieved it did. Melding his shadow with the shadow of her reiki-infused kunai had been sufficient to allow him to manipulate it through the barrier.

"That weapon is brutal," Genma said quietly.

Sasuke's eyes filled with fury and the markings from his curse seal began to slowly spread across his body.

Kagome stared at him in shock. "What …?" Then she suddenly looked at the others. "Someone else is coming!"

"Ino, tell Chouji and Kiba to collapse the other entrance and meet us at the rendezvous point. Come _on,_ Kagome!" Shikamaru backed up the few steps he could in the passageway, causing Sasuke to step back as well. He didn't know if he could hold him once the power from that curse seal was released.

Dispelling Jakotsudo, Kagome rolled to her side so she could use her arm to push herself up. Clutching her other hand tightly to her abdomen, she stumbled toward the barrier, pausing to grab the monk and push him through it.

"Get the monk and go," Shikamaru told Ino and Genma. "I've got Kagome." Staring at Sasuke with undisguised contempt, he said, "She's right. You're going to have to face Naruto again, and you're not going to like how it turns out." He released him from his shadow and picked Kagome up from where she was leaning against the wall and moved as quickly as he could out of the cave without a backward glance. As soon as he was clear, he ran for the trees. They needed to put some miles between themselves and this place. Pausing briefly, he looked down at her pale face and saw how tense her features were. Her eyes were closed and her fists were clenched.

"So, that was Sasuke, huh? I can see why everyone wants him back. He's a real charmer."

A slight smile tugged the corners of his mouth before he asked, "You're not immune to snake venom, are you?"

"No. I just hope he was lying, too, and it isn't really from a white serpent, because I've never seen one before and I doubt you all have an antidote for it. However, on the plus side, I really do heal fairly quickly, so if the venom isn't too potent and the dose I absorbed wasn't too big, my reiki may be able to repair the effects before … well, before it gets too bad."

"You heal quickly, but you can't just heal that wound like you did Genma's injuries?"

"No. When I heal someone with reiki, my ki completely heals the injury without tapping into the person's chakra to encourage it to help with the healing process, so it leaves those chakra reserves. I can't heal myself like that because it would take exactly as much of my life-energy to heal as I need replaced. It would be a zero-sum deal. But when I'm injured, my body will use some reiki continuously to speed up the healing process."

"Ino can help with a chakra healing technique."

She smiled. "I know. My friends have always been my greatest strength. Thanks, Shikamaru. I don't think I would have made it out of there without your quick thinking. Konoha is lucky to have you."

"You held your own pretty well."

"He wasn't even trying. He was testing me. He didn't even use that kekkai genkai of his until I hit him with a shuriken. Even when he kissed me, it felt like he was … searching for something."

Shikamaru's brows drew together as he frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. He agreed with her that Sasuke had been testing her—maybe even when he had cut her shirt open, although he had stepped way too far over the line. But when he had kissed her after stabbing her with the kunai … He knew the missing nin had wanted them to go back and tell Naruto how inappropriately he had behaved with his fiancé so he would be worried about her being in his hands. Of course, he had thought they wouldn't be able to get her out of there. But if Sasuke was actually searching for something, he didn't need to be trying to find it in Naruto's fiancé. "Just relax and concentrate on fighting that poison."

"Do me a favor. Even if I'm still weak when we get there, let me walk into Konoha on my own. I'd hate to have to be carried in on my first mission. Bad precedent and all that."

"In that case, do _me_ a favor and _be able_ to walk into Konoha on your own."

"Deal."

When they reached the rendezvous point, Shikamaru immediately lay her down. She had lost consciousness just a few minutes before. "Ino, she needs an antidote for snake venom."

"But she said ..."

"She was bluffing. Use whatever you would normally use if someone was poisoned by one of Orochimaru's people. I know Lady Tsunade would have made sure that was part of your field kit. And the more you can heal of that wound, the better, so her reiki can work on fighting the effects of the poison. We can't stay here long, though. We need to get farther away."

"He poisoned her?" Chouji asked.

"Stabbed her with a kunai that he said had a rare serpent venom on it," Genma told him.

"And he ripped her shirt open? What the hell was he doing?" Kiba frowned. "He's lost it."

Chouji looked at her as Ino knelt over her. "A lot of the blood on her doesn't look like it's from her wounds. Is it Sasuke's?"

"Yes. After he stabbed her and kissed her… "

"_He kissed her?!"_ Kiba blinked in surprise. "After trying to kill her? Holy crap! He really _has_ lost it!"

"It really was disturbing. But she got him off of her with some kind of sword that turned into a wicked bladed chain whip. I've seen bladed whips before, but not nearly as long or with so many blades. She wrapped it around him and then ripped the blades out. Honestly, I was surprised to see her use something like that," Genma admitted.

"I don't think she wanted to, but she had no choice. Ino, we need to leave. How is she?"

"I gave her the antidote and sealed the external wound, so there shouldn't be any chance of infection, but I need more time. And more chakra," she said sadly. She had already expended a lot of chakra healing Genma.

"Chouji, can you carry Ino for a while so she can rest?"

"Sure. Come on, Ino." He bent down so she could get on his back.

Kiba moved towards Kagome, but Shikamaru stopped him. "I've got her. You're in charge of the monk. You doing okay, Genma?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

…

They stopped earlier that night to let Ino finish healing Kagome's wounds. There had been no signs that they were being followed and Shikamaru wanted to let Ino do everything she could for Kagome, but he also wished they could keep going and just get her back to the village and to the hospital as soon as possible. He sighed in frustration. They had a full day's travel still ahead of them, and they were slowed a bit by him carrying her, and by the monk, who was going along with them without any trouble, but was moving slower than he'd like.

She was feverish now. He had felt the heat radiating off of her against his neck and shoulder where her head rested and through his shirt where she had turned partially toward him and her chest had pressed against him. Taking off his flak jacket, he pulled his shirt over his head. "Here," he handed it to Ino.

She looked at him in confusion for a moment, then smiled as she took the shirt. "Thanks, Shikamaru. That will help since she seems to be having some chills with the fever, and I know she wouldn't have liked arriving at the village like that, either."

"You're telling me. She wants to walk in," he said as he put the flak jacket back on.

"I … don't know if that will be possible. The poison had already been in her system for a while before I gave her the antidote, and I still don't know if it was the _right_ antidote. I know Lady Tsunade and Sakura can extract poison from someone's system, but I would be afraid to even try it out here."

"No, you'd need the right equipment and a team to help. You've done just fine, Ino." He patted her shoulder. "Eat something and get some rest."

"You should, too," Chouji told him, as he opened a bag of chips. "I'll take first watch."

"Thanks, Chouji."

He accepted a protein bar from Ino, who was sitting down next to Kagome and then he took a seat on the other side of her.

Kiba was threatening the monk not to cause any trouble. Shikamaru doubted he would since the man had seemed more confused than anything else. He would let them confirm it at the village, but he strongly suspected the monks had been controlled by someone else, either through some kind of possession or hypnosis.

"Hey, Genma, do you know who else was there? Was it Orochimaru?"

"I never saw Orochimaru, but Yakushi Kabuto was there. During the fight with the monks, I fell into a trap and broke my leg. I still thought we were going to make it, though, until that one" he indicated the monk sitting nearby, "grabbed hold of me and pushed me into the cave where Sasuke was waiting and then Kabuto gave me some kind of shot. Everything is kind of blurry after that, but I do remember Kabuto asking me about Naruto's wife. I don't think I told him anything, but I can't be sure. Seriously, I never dreamed Lady Tsunade would send her out."

"Well, considering Iwashi came back and told her you two had been attacked by the monks you were escorting and that one of them had vanished with you, It did make sense to send her. He didn't see Sasuke or Kabuto, so she didn't suspect Orochimaru had anything to do with this. We didn't have any intel that he has been frequenting this area or that he might have a hideout here."

"Naruto's going to be mad that he wasn't on this mission and we ran into Sasuke," Chouji predicted.

"No kidding!" Kiba agreed. "He's going to flip out when he finds out what that bastard did to his fiancé." He looked at her. "She's not going to … die or anything, is she?"

"Of course not," the husky nin declared. "Ino is taking good care of her, and she's got all that reiki. From what Genma told us about the way she faced off with Sasuke, she must have balls the size of Naruto's, so she probably has nine lives just like he has."

"Wh … _what?!"_ Ino stammered. "Chouji!"

Kiba burst out laughing and Genma started chuckling. _Maybe if I keep that in mind the next time we're sparring, I won't get so distracted._

"On that note, I think I'll catch some z's," Shikamaru said as he stretched out.

"Hey, Akamaru! What are you doing?" Kiba asked his canine companion.

The ninken was lying down right next to Kagome and he nudged her side with his nose until she turned towards him and put her arm around the large animal, running her fingers through his fur and snuggling into him. She mumbled something and he gave a little snort, then lay his head down to sleep.

"Well, no one could ever call him a dumb mutt."

Shikamaru agreed. And he felt a little more hopeful about Kagome's condition. She seemed to be in a much more normal sleep than her previous unconscious state, and Akamaru would provide her some extra warmth if she was having chills. Then he closed his eyes and briefly speculated about what he thought he'd heard her say. He could have sworn she called Akamaru "Sesshoumaru."

…

They left before dawn again, and Kagome was still very feverish. Ino had said it was a good sign that her breathing was normal and she hadn't had any convulsions or vomiting. However, since she was still unconscious, they didn't know how much pain she was in or if she was experiencing any numbness. When Shikamaru picked her up to leave, Chouji had come up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault she got hurt, you know. She really was the right person for Lady Tsunade to send on this mission, otherwise we never would have been able to get Genma or the monk. Who knows how long it would have taken for any of our barrier experts to get into that one or even if they could? I never even knew monks could make them out of reiki instead of chakra. So, you really don't have to be the one to carry her all the way back, and you don't need to go beating yourself up about it. We all know there's always the danger of getting hurt. She may be from another land, but she knows that, too. Heck, for all we know, she's been poisoned before."

"I know." _But when I'm in charge, it's my responsibility to get __**all**__ of you back safely. And she might have been the right person to send, but Lady Tsunade wouldn't have even considered her if I hadn't suggested she volunteer her services to Konoha._ The thing that irked him the most, though, was that this mission would go on record as being a success. They _did_ rescue Genma and they _were_ bringing the monk back for questioning. The problem was the mission did not accurately reflect the situation. The fact was Orochimaru had set a trap for the Enjo-sha, meaning he _was_ interested in her. The whole interaction with Sasuke had been disturbing. And Kagome was injured. It sure didn't feel like a successful mission.

It was a relief when her fever lessened and she woke around mid-morning, so they stopped to let Ino assess her condition. "Welcome back," Shikamaru said as he set her down on the ground.

"I hope you killed the elephant that ran over me," she smiled.

After a brief examination, Ino happily announced, "Yes! The antidote is definitely working. I can't believe Sasuke lied about the venom."

"Seriously? Lying about that was the _least_ of what he did," Chouji shook his head.

"He wanted her to think she had to go with him if she wanted to live."

"Do you feel like eating anything?" Ino asked her.

"I think I'll stick with water for now. The thought of food makes me a little queasy." She tried to stand up, but she was too weak and shaky and her legs wouldn't hold her.

Shikamaru frowned as he caught her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I hoped I was going to that stream over there to clean up a bit."

"I'll help you," Ino said, getting a small cloth out of her field kit and then getting up from where she was sitting. But Shikamaru just carried Kagome over and set her down next to the stream. Ino followed him and sat down next to Kagome, handing her the cloth. Seeing the slightly angry expression on her face, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I hate being weak. I need to get stronger. How can I serve Konoha if I need to be carried back from the very first mission I'm sent on? How can I help Naruto?" She sighed loudly and turned to face her friend. "Don't mind me. I've been told I'm a lousy patient."

"Well, don't worry about being weak right now or being carried back to Konoha. Poison is poison, and it doesn't care how strong you are or if you're on a mission or not, unless you really _are_ one of the few people fortunate enough to be immune," she said with a smile. "And we all need a little help sometimes. It's no disgrace."

"Ouch!" Kagome winced as if in pain.

"What is it?"

"I think I just got hit by something I've told my teammates a thousand times. Getting a taste of your own medicine really _is_ bitter."

Ino giggled.

"Thanks, Ino. Konoha is so lucky to have you—to have _all_ of you. You work amazingly well together, and _you_ are definitely extremely skilled."

"Let's go, girls!"

Ino helped her up and Chouji walked over to them. "Here, Kagome. Think you can hang on to my back?"

"No problem. I'll bet Shikamaru's arms are about to fall off from carrying me all this way."

"I've picked up cats that weigh more than you do," the squad leader told her as he started off.

"Well, meow!" she laughed.

…

When they stopped that afternoon, Kagome ate a protein bar, but her fever had risen again. She insisted on walking around a bit with Ino's help, but she was obviously still shaky. Ino assured everyone the fever was normal, and told them she could be feverish on and off for days, along with experiencing muscle weakness or nausea and headaches. The antidote was fighting the poison and keeping it from doing any more damage, but she still needed to heal from the effects it had already had on her body.

Shikamaru carried her on his back the rest of the way. She fell asleep, so he woke her before they reached the village. It was already night, and he was anxious to make his report. Lady Tsunade was not going to be pleased, and he imagined she was going to double the guards at the gate _and_ the number of ANBU tasked with watching Kagome. He would have to get permission from her to tell Naruto what had happened with Sasuke. She would probably call Kakashi and Yamato both in to make sure they kept Naruto _here_ and didn't let him go looking for the missing nin at the caves. Of course, he was sure both Sasuke and Kabuto were long gone by now.

"Kagome, the village is just up ahead. Are you sure you want to walk in?"

"Yes. Thanks, Shikamaru," she said as she slid off his back and promptly lost her balance and had to grab him around the waist. She steadied herself and let go. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Drink some water," Ino advised her.

"I'm sorry I'm slowing you all down even more. I know you want to get home. It's just kind of a superstition among the shinobi of my village," she explained, as she slowly and shakily walked forward between Shikamaru and Ino , who were following the monk, Kiba, and Akamaru, with Chouji and Genma behind them. "If you can't walk in when you complete your first mission, well … it generally doesn't bode well for your longevity as a shinobi."

"Seems a bit harsh," Chouji commented.

"Yeah, I guess it is, but it's like a rite of passage into the ranks."

As they approached the gate, Izumo called out to them, "Hey! You're back! Lady Tsunade wants you to go straight to her office."

"Genma, where's your shirt?" Kotetsu asked.

Stepping up in between Ino and Kagome and offering them each an arm, he smirked. "When you're traveling with beautiful ladies, you always give them what they want."

"You, too, Shikamaru?"

Seeing the wisdom of Genma's gesture, he rolled his eyes and sighed as he offered Kagome his arm, too. "Yeah, they're too troublesome otherwise."

Laughing, they passed them through the gate.

"Thanks, guys," Kagome said quietly, grateful for the support.

Once they were inside the village, Shikamaru turned to Kagome. "Time for you to go to the hospital."

"Walking in includes reporting in, and they said we're supposed to go straight to your Hokage."

"Now you're just being stubborn."

"She has a point," Genma agreed.

"_You_ need to go be checked out, too."

"Yeah, I know. But we need to lay this whole sorry mess out to Lady Tsunade, and it starts with me."

"Fine then. Let's get this over with."

…

"_Orochimaru?! Uchiha Sasuke?!"_

Lady Tsunade was not happy with their report.

"_**You**__," _she pointed at Kagome, "you should be in the hospital. You, too, Genma. Get the monk to Ibiki for questioning. Ino, send your father in to help. Shikamaru, you stay. Everybody else is dismissed." Putting both hands to her head, she groaned. "I have a headache."

When Shikamaru and Shizune were the only other ones left in the room, the Hokage sat down. "You know what this means. Orochimaru wants her. I can't believe we almost let him capture the Enjo-sha! And she was poisoned! Good grief, do you have any idea what the Tsukikage would have done if we'd lost her? Because I don't even want to think about it." She massaged her temples. "We have to be extra vigilant with her security. It may not be safe to send her out on any other missions. Then again, Orochimaru might expect us to keep her here, so it might be _better_ to send her out. I'll have to think about that. I don't think he'll bother to try to rig another trap that's so obviously tailor-made for her skills again. He knows we won't fall for that. And Sasuke's presence there presents a whole other problem, namely Naruto. He isn't ready yet to make another attempt to bring him back."

"And there was a little more to Sasuke's actions concerning Kagome than we mentioned," Shikamaru admitted.

"More than him fighting her, stabbing her, and poisoning her?"

"Unfortunately, yes. At first, he seemed to be testing her, which was probably what Orochimaru sent him to do. However, he was being deliberately provocative, which I believe was to make sure we let Naruto know what he was saying and doing. He slit her shirt open, and he kissed her."

Tsunade's eyes widened and she stared at him for a minute. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. And something Kagome said about it makes me uneasy. I think it took a personal turn for him."

"You think instead of taking her for Orochimaru to experiment on or whatever he has planned, that Sasuke just wants to take her away from Naruto to hurt him or at least hurt his pride?"

"Something like that."

"That's just great. And the worst part of it is, that Naruto might not be as upset about that as Sasuke thinks he would," the Fifth Hokage sighed.

"Actually, I think Naruto has decided he likes her. I don't think he's ready to accept he has to marry her yet, but …"

"Really? Well, I guess at least that's _something._ Okay, keep a close eye on him. And her."

"We'll have to tell Naruto. There's no way to keep it from him since it will take time for her to recover from the poisoning. And her two companions will need to know," he pointed out.

"I suppose so. Naruto will see that the rest of you are back and wonder where she is. You should probably make him visit her in the hospital, too. I'll leave it up to you to decide exactly what and how you tell him. Let Kakashi and Yamato know what's going on so they can keep an eye on him, too." Shizune, remind me to check on her in the morning. From the way she looked, she'll probably sleep all night tonight, which would be the best thing for her. Ino did a good job. You _all_ did a good job, especially considering it was a trap." She sighed again. "All right, send in the ANBU."

…

Shikamaru was about to head to the hospital to make sure Kagome was settled in before going to break the news to Naruto and her friends when he saw a small figure slowly and unsteadily walking in the opposite direction. Shaking his head, he caught up to her. "The hospital is the other way."

"I know. I need to get some things from my apartment."

Taking in her flushed cheeks and glassy-looking eyes, he sighed and put a hand on her forehead. "Your fever is up. Come on." He bent down slightly and motioned for her to get on his back.

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, just be quick about it, okay?"

"Okay."

When she came out of the apartment, she had changed clothes and was carrying a small bag and two blankets.

Eyeing the blankets suspiciously, Shikamaru asked, "Why do I get the feeling you're about to disobey Lady Tsunade's orders?"

"I told Naruto I would go to the training field when I got back," she told him matter-of-factly.

"Lady Tsunade told you to go to the hospital."

"Noooooo. She said I _should_ be in the hospital, not that I _had_ to go there."

"Semantics. You know what she meant."

"I prefer to think of it as a legal technicality. Besides, I'm too feverish to know any better," she grinned at him. "What does it matter where I sleep?"

The Hokage was going to have his head tomorrow. "You really are amazingly troublesome. Let's go." He took the bag from her and turned to offer his back again.

Not sure of his intentions, she asked, "To the field?"

Rolling his eyes at her, he agreed. "Yes, to the field."

"Thank you. Let me down before we get in sight of them, okay?"

"Is this another 'walking in' thing?"

"No, it's a 'I don't want those two mother hens fussing over me' thing."

"Gotcha."

…

"Kagome-sama! You're back!"

"Of course. I'm glad to see you didn't get yourself thrown out of Konoha while I was gone," she smiled. "How's Naruto doing?"

"You can see for yourself," Shippou nodded toward the waterfall. "He's still at it. Sakura and Sai came by this morning and invited him to go to dinner with them this evening, but he turned them down. He didn't stop for lunch, but Kakashi made him stop and eat a couple of hours ago."

Kagome frowned and stood there watching him for a few minutes.

Shikamaru frowned at _her_. He took one of the blankets and shook it out on the ground. "You can fuss at him tomorrow if Lady Tsunade doesn't have the ANBU drag you away."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved a hand dismissively. Then she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for everything, Shikamaru. You're the best."

Hoping it was too dark for the others to see how red his face was, he mumbled, "Just get some sleep."

"Good idea, Kagome-sama. You must be tired."

She nodded. "I am. We'll talk tomorrow."

Having walked over to see how the mission went, Kakashi raised a brow at the other Leaf nin, but he didn't say anything as he watched Kagome lie down and wrap up in the other blanket. Shikamaru nodded in Yamato's direction and all of the men walked over there.

"What happened?" Miroku asked quietly. "Her cheeks are flushed and she's unsteady on her feet, and I _know_ you didn't celebrate your mission's success with some sake'."

"Not to mention, she would never agree to lie down and go to sleep until she greeted him," Shippou pointed a thumb in Naruto's direction, "unless she's injured and she's reached her limits."

"She got stabbed with a poisoned kunai."

"And she's not in the hospital?" Yamato asked.

"Let's just say she misinterpreted Lady Tsunade's orders."

Shippou smiled at that. "She's okay, though, or you wouldn't have _let_ her 'misinterpret' them. And since she came here, I don't have to ask if she walked in through the gate."

"Yes, she insisted on walking in. Ino gave her an antidote for the poison and took care of her wounds as soon as she could. She'll be feverish and probably weak for a few days."

Miroku nodded. "She's been poisoned before. Spider venom, from a youkai. She was sick for a week. It was unnerving, too, because she was such a tiny, little girl back then. I confess, I didn't think she'd survive, even with the antidote, but Lord Sesshoumaru took care of her himself."

"Was anyone else injured?" Kakashi asked.

"Just Genma. He's the one we were sent to rescue," Shikamaru told him. "It turned out to be a trap. For her. Orochimaru set it up."

Yamato exhaled loudly. "That's not good."

"It gets worse. Sasuke's the one who stabbed her. They fought."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "She fought with Sasuke?"

Shikamaru nodded. "He was … testing her. Unfortunately, I think he liked what he saw."

"Since he stabbed her with a poisoned kunai, I guess we should be glad he didn't _dislike_ her," Shippou said dryly. "You _are_ talking about Uchiha Sasuke, the guy Naruto is after, aren't you?

"Yes. Kakashi, Yamato, you know what this means. Lady Tsunade wants you two to make sure Naruto doesn't go looking for him. Also, we're going to have to beef up security around the village and be extra vigilant."

"I assume you've been chosen to break the news to him," Kakashi commented.

"Yeah. There were some … disturbing aspects to Sasuke's interaction with Kagome. I'm actually not sure how much to tell him," Shikamaru confessed.

Yamato's brows drew together in concern. "Disturbing _how?"_

'Well, like I said, he was testing her—her skills and abilities, at least as much as the limited room there allowed. We were in a small cave. But, he was doing it in a very provocative way. He taunted her by insulting Naruto, and I know he hoped we would tell him what he said and what he did. He definitely expected to succeed in capturing her. He deliberately slit her shirt open to shock us, but I'm not sure he meant to kiss her. I think that was impulsive."

Kakashi blinked a few times while he tried to process that, while the others just stared at him. "Sasuke kissed her?" _That's not good._ _That's not like him._

"After he stabbed her. And he told her if she went with him willingly and stopped fighting, he'd give her the antidote to the rare snake venom that was on his kunai. Fortunately, he was bluffing and it was the snake venom most of Orochimaru's people use, so Ino had the antidote."

"It's a good thing she didn't take that deal," Yamato said.

"She told him she was immune to spider and snake venom."

"Too bad she isn't," Shippou said, glancing over at her. "The breeze is a pretty cool tonight. I'm going to get a couple of extra blankets."

"Good idea," Miroku agreed. "We'll leave you to it." And the two of them walked off in Kagome's direction.

Kakashi looked up at the bridge. "We may as well get it over with so you can get some rest, Shikamaru. I'll get him."

Naruto nearly fell forward into the flowing water when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "You might want to call it a day. Kagome's back."

"Yeah?" He looked down at the field and saw Yamato and Shikamaru near the area where Yamato had been set up, and Miroku sitting further back next to Kagome, who was already lying down. "I guess she was tired, huh?" He was a little disappointed he wouldn't get to talk to her tonight. Kakashi jumped down to stand by Shikamaru, so Naruto dispelled all of his clones and followed him.

"Hey, Shikamaru. I guess your mission was a success since you're back already."

"Technically, yes," the other nin told him. "However, the situation wasn't what it appeared to be. We walked into a trap. Orochimaru had a monk capture one of our shinobi in the hopes of luring out our new priestess, your Enjo-sha bride. We managed to retrieve Genma and bring the monk in for questioning, but Kagome was injured."

"She's hurt?" He quickly looked over at her again.

"She was stabbed with a poisoned kunai."

Naruto started to walk over to her, but Shikamaru grabbed his arm. "She's running a fever and she's weak, but she'll be fine in a few days. Ino gave her the antidote and healed her wounds. There's more you need to know."

Clenching his fists, Naruto growled angrily, "What more could there be? That bastard Orochimaru is …"

"Sasuke is the one who stabbed her with the kunai."

"What?" He didn't move a muscle as he stared at Shikamaru.

"Sasuke is the one Orochimaru sent to capture her."

His face lost all expression and Shikamaru couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Where was he?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm sure he isn't there now. But we know now that Orochimaru does want her."

"And Sasuke stabbed her with a poisoned kunai."

"Yes."

"Why isn't she in the hospital?"

"Because she told you she would come here when she got back."

The blond just stood there for a minute, then walked away, and Shikamaru didn't try to stop him this time.

"You didn't tell him everything," Kakashi observed.

"The rest can wait, at least until tomorrow. I think that's enough for him to deal with tonight. He seemed more anxious to check on her, rather than ready to chase after Sasuke. That's good."

The older nin nodded. "We should all try to get some sleep."

Naruto stood and looked down at Kagome. She looked really small all huddled up on her side under that blanket. She had one hand under her cheek and her other arm was drawn across her chest as if she was hugging herself. And her long, black hair was everywhere. It fell down her body like another cover, but it was also spread out behind her on the blanket. There were even some long strands lying in the grass in front of her. He sighed and sat down. Reaching over, he touched her cheek and felt the heat in it, so he was surprised when she shivered.

"Are you sure she shouldn't be in the hospital?" he asked quietly when Shippou returned and walked over to check on her.

"At this point, she needs sleep more than anything else. So, she should be fine. She's stubborn, and she would probably pitch a fit if we moved her, and then she'd just fume about it all night, so she wouldn't get any sleep. She does seem to be having some chills with the fever, though, and she hates to be cold, so I have another blanket if she needs it," Shippou told him. "Here, make yourself comfortable." He handed him a couple of blankets.

Lying down just a few feet away from her, he looked up at the night sky. They had only been gone a couple of days, so Sasuke had been close—closer than he'd been in years. And yet, maybe he was farther away than ever. Orochimaru had set a trap to capture Kagome, and Sasuke had helped carry it out. He had poisoned her. Of course, he didn't know her. He wanted to think Sasuke wouldn't kill someone from their village, especially someone who might be important to him, but he knew better. He had been ready to kill Sai, and even Sakura, the last time they met. So, yes, he would probably kill Kagome without even blinking.

Turning on his side, he looked at her. He knew Kagome was here to be the jinchuriki's perfect "helpmate" bride. She was supposed to marry him and help him gain control over the nine tails' power. They had said she would also help protect him. _She_ had told him she would always watch his back. Never in a million years had he imagined she might end up face-to-face with Sasuke. Sasuke was _his_ problem. And she had been hurt. She really could have died. But she was here. Not just back here at the village, but she had come _here._ Because she told him she would.

_And Orochimaru wants her. Will Sasuke try to get her again? Someone should be protecting __**her**__, instead of her thinking she needs to protect __**me**__. _

She shivered again and pulled her blanket up until her face was partially covered. Scooting over, he picked up the strands of hair on the ground in front of her and gently tossed them over her shoulder. Then he lifted up the edge of her blanket and eased under it next to her. Sliding one arm under her neck and the other one around her waist, he pulled her close to him. As she shifted to accommodate his presence beside her, her hand moved across his chest before resting on his shoulder for a moment. Then she murmured something unintelligible and draped her arm over his upper arm and her hand slid against his back and pressed between his shoulder blades in a firm embrace. He smiled when she snuggled in so she was pressed right up against him and rubbed her face from side to side against his shoulder before giving a contented sigh. The slight coolness of his skin and the underlying warmth of his body heat was a balm to her senses and she drifted into a deeper sleep.

He could feel her breath across his collarbone, and it soothed some residual worry he didn't even realize he had been feeling. She was small, and soft, but she felt solid in his arms. The way she fit against him was … not helping him go to sleep. He could feel her breasts pressed snugly against his torso, and his thoughts wandered back to how she had looked in that bikini top, when he suddenly realized his hand was also wandering, and it was making its way down her backside of its own volition. He was going to hell. She had been injured and he was just trying to make sure she was warm and comfortable so she could sleep and he couldn't keep his hands to himself? He was as bad as that monk or Pervy Sage. Then again … she _was_ his fiancé, right? And if they got married, he would be sleeping next to her every night. And she wouldn't be wearing any clothes, right? And he couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to have her breasts pressed against him without a shirt between them. There just might be a benefit to this marriage thing that he hadn't been thinking about. How had he not been thinking about it? He really was going to hell.

Giving himself a mental shake, he lifted his hand off of her ... lower back and tangled it into her hair instead. Like the rest of her, her hair was beautiful. Instead of being straight and smooth, it was wavy and a bit unruly, and He smiled as it reminded him of the way she had described herself as being "rough around the edges." He certainly hadn't found anything "rough" about her yet, and her hair was soft and silky. Holding a handful of it up and then watching it fall in between his fingers, he also had the thought that it was dark and mysterious-looking, which was completely at odds with her personality since she always seemed so sunny and open. Her eyes matched her personality, though. They were such a vibrant, brilliant blue. The corners of his mouth tilted up and he smiled a bit ruefully as he admitted to himself that he might just have a bit of a crush on his own fiancé.

He still didn't know how he felt about _having_ a fiancé, but if he had to have one, he knew he was lucky it was her. She had come _here,_ all this way from her land to marry a stranger—to marry_ him_. And she had come all the way from a mission where she had been poisoned, to sleep in a training field, so she could be _here_ … for him. She had even been poisoned by the person _he_ was supposed to defeat and bring back _here_ to the village. He let out a sigh and looked down at her before tightening his arms around her. The least he could do was keep her safe and be _here_ … for her.

...

End Chapter 6

A/N This was the chapter that wouldn't end, and I am still not completely happy with it, but I already have a page and half of the next chapter now. I have been dying to bring Sasuke into the story, and he arrived in a completely different scenario than I had originally planned, although the dialogue ran pretty much the way I had envisioned it. Team 8 _was_ going to be the team Kagome went on a mission with, only Hinata was going to be left behind so Neji could lead it. I considered having Lee go, too. I even asked my sons who should go. LOL! But I am liking the way Shikamaru and Kagome get along, and her friendship with Ino, so I just brought Chouji along for the ride, too. And then I nerfed the fight with my setting. *sigh* When I finally reached the end, Naruto refused to get all sentimental and mushy and got a little handsy instead. You would think I could make the characters behave when I'm the one doing the writing, but sometimes they just take on a life of their own. Anyway, I apologize for taking twice as long with this chapter, but at least it's about twelve pages longer than the last one. And now we have Sasuke to shake things up. ^_^ I'm going to post this now before I change my mind and re-write half of it.


	7. Chapter 7

_Last time:_

He still didn't know how he felt about _having_ a fiancé, but if he had to have one, he knew he was lucky it was her. She had come _here,_ all this way from her land to marry a stranger—to marry_ him_. And she had come all the way from a mission where she had been poisoned, to sleep in a training field, to be _here_ … for him. She had even been poisoned by the person _he_ was supposed to defeat and bring back to the village. He let out a sigh and looked down at her before tightening his arms around her. The least he could do was keep her safe and be _here_ … for her.

Unwanted Chapter 7

"He wouldn't look quite so smug if he knew she had snuggled up to Akamaru the same way," Shikamaru observed quietly.

"Akamaru—that's Kiba's ninken, right?" Shippou laughed. "It figures. We told you Sesshoumaru took care of her when she was poisoned years ago. He let her curl up to him in his youkai form to sleep. He's an inu youkai, you know. He can transform into a 50 ft. dog."

_A 50 ft. dog? That explains it. _ "I saw Yamato at the Hokage Tower. Are you planning to forgo training today?"

"Lady Tsunade summoned him," Kakashi answered. "I think she wants him to coordinate with the ANBU when Kagome is out here. As far as training goes, I thought we would see what kind of mood he's in after you talk to him."

Naruto frowned. There was some noise in the background of his dream that was interfering with his sleep. He didn't want to wake up yet. He was really comfortable lying here on his back with the pleasant warmth of his fiancé on one side of him and her head on his chest. The noise continued, but the pull of sleep beckoned, so he tuned out the noise that was threatening his peace and turned on his side into the warmth. He smiled when she adjusted to his changed position and her hair tickled his nose. Then his breath caught when he felt her lips touch his shoulder. Then his neck. He exhaled and tilted his head back slightly to give her access to the underside of his jaw. When her hand drifted down his back and came to rest on his butt, he sought her lips with his and captured them in a heated kiss. Instinctively rolling her onto her back, he moved over her and put his knee between her legs so he could nudge them apart and situate himself comfortably between her thighs.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat loudly.

His eyes snapped open and he saw three pairs of legs standing near them. He closed his eyes and groaned. "Fuuuuuck."

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Shippou laughed.

"How does that expression go?" he heard the amused voice of his sensei from off to the side somewhere. "Get a room?"

"Don't worry, Naruto, we're witnesses. Kagome-sama was definitely the instigator. Who could be expected to resist such provocative fondling of one's … ahem, rear assets?"

"Most of the women _you _fondle. You know, I never thought of Kagome as being a morning sex person."

Naruto felt his face grow hot as he immediately moved off of her and flopped over on his back. _Really? Even Kakashi is here? The first time I ever …_

"Naruto?" At the sound of her voice, he turned to see a frown on her face at the loss of his warmth. Her still sleep-befuddled mind was trying to process what she had heard. Confused, she turned toward him as her eyes slowly opened. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," he glared at all four of the men standing there. "Everyone else just needs to _go away."_ He reached out and pulled her to him again.

_Everyone else?_

"Lady Tsunade is in a bit of a snit because she went to the hospital to check on Kagome the first thing this morning. You're lucky _she_ isn't standing here breathing fire down your neck," Shikamaru told him. "She really read the ANBU the riot act for letting her come here, even though they didn't know she was supposed to go to the hospital." _And she __**really **__wasn't very happy with __**me**__, either. At least this new development with the two of them will be to her liking._

_Shikamaru? _At the realization that they really weren't alone, Kagome's face turned bright red. "I guess I need to get up then," she said as she sat up, avoiding looking at anyone else who might be there.

Frowning, Naruto sat up, too, and touched Kagome's cheek. It was warm, but not hot. "I think your fever has gone down."

"Good, I have a lot I need to do today."

"What do you need to do?" Naruto asked.

"I need to find Lee to let him know I'm back, so we can resume training. I also need to see if Neji wants to spar this afternoon, and Tenten, if she's available. Miroku, you and I need to work on a way to incorporate my chakra into my reiki weapons. Maybe I should send a message to Totosai about that. I may need to ask him to make something for me. And …"

"I don't think so," the blond interrupted her. "Shikamaru said it would probably be days before you're really well again. You should just rest and take it easy." He frowned again at the obstinate look on her face. "Or maybe I should take you to the hospital so you can rest there."

"I'm fine. Ino gave me the antidote to the poison, remember? Look," she kicked the blanket off her legs, then pointed to her arms and even lifted up her shirt to show him her stomach. "Do you see any wounds? No. Because I'm fine."

Kakashi blinked. He was sure it would be completely inappropriate for him to suggest that Naruto check the rest of her, just in case she had a scratch somewhere. _Maybe __**I**__ should write a book._

"You're not _fine._ Orochimaru set a trap for you and Sasuke poisoned you. That's not _fine._ You're not well yet, and you're in danger. You should rest."

"I rested all night."

"Rest some more."

Miroku and Shippou were amused to see the two of them stand up and try to stare each other down. Obviously, Naruto had no idea who he was dealing with. Kagome might look small and delicate, but she was fiercely obstinate, and she had a way of wrapping everyone around her little finger and getting her way. She'd already made Shikamaru an accomplice.

"That's ridiculous! How can I rest if I haven't done anything to rest _from?"_

"You're resting from being _poisoned."_

"I'm _fine!" _She stamped her foot in irritation. "Hey! Put me down! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking you to see Granny Tsunade. _She_ will decide what you can and can't do."

"That's not fair! She'll say I can't do anything just because she doesn't want to take a chance on pissing off Sesshoumaru."

"Doesn't matter. She's the Hokage, and you have to do what she says."

The four men just stood there, slightly stunned, as they disappeared from view.

Then Miroku and Shippou burst out laughing. "I can't believe he just tossed her over his shoulder to take her to the Hokage!"

"I'll admit, I thought he would give in to Kagome-sama, especially after his reaction to her when he first woke up. But he would have won Lord Sesshoumaru's approval if he'd seen that."

"Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are," Shikamaru admitted.

"As shinobi, we are taught that other shinobi are equally as capable of taking care of themselves as we are-whether they are male or female doesn't make a difference. But Kagome was presented to Naruto as his fiancé. He doesn't really know her as a shinobi yet, and I don't think he knows what to think about her as a priestess. What his male instincts are telling him is that she is his to protect. The fact that she was injured by Sasuke, whom he sees as his responsibility, must bring out those feelings even more," Kakashi surmised aloud.

Shikamaru nodded. "That makes sense. This is a side of him I haven't seen before. Then again, he's never had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancé before, either. I suspect that in many instances, if they clash, Kagome would get her way, but when it comes to her health or safety, he will stand firm. He's stepping into his role as her future husband whether he's conscious of it or not." He let out a sigh. Too bad that wasn't the only problem on his plate right now. The rest was going to be a real drag. "As for Sasuke's involvement in her injuries, I have no idea how he's going to react when I tell him the rest of it. I suppose I should head to the Hokage's office to see how this plays out. Naruto may be the only one in Lady Tsunade's good graces for a change."

…

Having taken the long way back to the Hokage Tower since he wasn't in any hurry to be chewed out again by the lady in charge, Shikamaru was surprised to see Naruto coming out of his apartment when he passed that building. Walking up the stairs and joining him, he asked, "Where's Kagome? Did you actually take her to see Lady Tsunade?"

"Of course I did. You saw how stubborn she was being. She's in her apartment, taking a shower now. I'm going to check on her to make sure she isn't planning to do something she isn't supposed to. She's not very happy right now. Granny Tsunade insisted on checking her out for herself. Kagome suggested she go to Training Ground 10 and watch her work out with Lee. I thought the old lady would explode!" he laughed. "She also told her the Tsukikage would have told her to get right back to her activities, but Granny Tsunade didn't buy it. She really yelled at her, and she told her no training or sparring. Kagome argued with her the whole time, but she was polite about it," he grinned.

"So what is she going to do today?"

Scratching his head, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"This could be a good opportunity for you to get to know her better. You should take her to eat breakfast somewhere, then just walk around the marketplace for a while. Maybe have her pick out stuff to fix a picnic lunch for the two of you," he suggested.

"A picnic? Yeah, I guess we could do that. Where would be a good place to go, though?"

Somewhat surprised that Naruto actually was willing to take his suggestion and spend the day with her instead of training, he decided to wait until later to tell him anything else about Sasuke, and made a recommendation, "Have Kagome show you where her sanctuary is."

…

"Hello, Tsuande. Did you miss me?"

The Hokage whirled around to see a white-headed nin sitting in the window behind her.

"Jiraiya! You're back, and not a moment too soon."

"Trouble?"

"You tell me." Opening a drawer on her desk, she pulled out a bottle and two cups. "What have you heard?"

Accepting the cup she handed him, he asked, "Which front do you want to know about first? The Akatsuki? Orochimaru? The possibility of a new group of mercenary ninja operating in the Five Nations? Or shall we start with the interesting rumors swirling about Naruto?"

Holding her own cup out so he could pour a drink for her, Tsunade told him, "I can guess what those are, and we have news of our own about Orochimaru, so let's start with the Akatsuki. Kampai."

With an indulgent smile, the Toad Sage saluted her with his cup. "Word has it the Akatsuki are out of sorts about Sasori being killed. His death created a void they needed filled for whatever their endgame is, and so they had to curtail their activities while they recruited a new member to take his place. I don't have a lot of information on him yet, other than he always wears a mask."

"So, now they are back to operating at full capacity for whatever it is they want to do."

"Yes. And I heard a few rumors that there is another group of highly-skilled mercenaries roaming about now. They seem to have five members, though a couple of my sources claim there are seven of them working together. Interestingly enough, they seem to be seeking information on the Akatsuki, as well. Perhaps we will be fortunate and they will wipe each other out."

Frowning, Tsuande asked, "So, you don't think we need to be concerned about this new group?"

"I would put them on the back burner for now, but obviously, we will have to keep our eyes and ears open. As for Orochimaru, he seems to have gone to ground. No sightings of him for months. However, he is rumored to be preparing to launch a new project."

Tsunade held out her cup to him for a refill. "And that new project is probably connected to the rumors you've heard about Naruto."

Raising a brow at her in interest, Jiraiya sat back. "Really? How very intriguing. Do tell."

"I'm assuming you've heard that Naruto is engaged to be married," she smiled.

"Yes, that _is_ the scuttlebutt being bandied about in Iwagakure, Ishigakure, _and_ Sunagakure. I was surprised to find him the topic of conversation in all three villages—I didn't know so many people were keeping tabs on him. I expect you will be receiving an inquiry from the Kazekage soon. I've heard several variations of the story of his engagement.

Number 1. While Naruto was traveling with me through the Land Down Under, he fell in love with the daughter of the Daimyo there. When we left, she stowed away on the boat we returned on. Her father followed with a small army who arrived at Konoha mounted on giant kangeroos, and the Fire Daimyo had to get involved to negotiate so Naruto could marry her."

"Giant kangeroos?" Tsunade laughed.

"Number 2. Naruto was captured and gravely wounded by a band of mercenary nin while we were traveling in the Land of Perilous Dangers. While being held captive, he met and fell in love with the daughter of their leader, and she happens to be a priestess. She healed his injuries and helped him escape, but after we left, she turned up pregnant, proving the land was well-named. Truly a _perilous danger,"_ he said with a shudder. "So her father arrived in Konoha with his band of mercenaries, all dressed completely in black and wearing no insignia to indicate their loyalties, and they laid siege to the Hokage Tower and demanded that they get married."

"Hmmm. The tower _was_ surrounded for a little while. Either we had a few spies in the village or simply too many observant visitors that day," she frowned at the thought.

Jiraiya also frowned upon hearing the tower had been surrounded, but he continued with his report of the rumors. "Number 3. is my personal favorite—I heard it from the Kazekage's brother in a bar one night, and he asked me if it was true. Naruto accompanied me to the Land of Big-Breasted Women, where I was doing research for a new book, which isn't a bad idea. They are a matriarchial society, with very few men, so we were treated like kings. The daughter of the Queen fell in love with Naruto and tried everything to seduce him so he would stay with her, but after a while, we left. I can't imagine why. The princess was heartbroken, so the Queen gathered an army of 50 Amazonian warriors and marched to Konoha to force Naruto to return. When she met with _you_, she felt a certain _kinship, _and decided it would be all right if her daughter lived here. So, you are forcing Naruto to marry the girl because, as it turns out, your mother's clan is from their land, and you have made a new alliance with them. So, we will be seeing a lot more big-breasted women in our village in the near future. At least, Kankuro hopes so, and I must confess, so do I," he ended with a leer.

Narrowing her eyes at him, she muttered, "Perverts. Land of Big-Breasted Women, indeed. Who in the world starts these crazy rumors?" She held out her glass to him again.

"Visionaries. There was one other story that I heard several times at several different locations. Number 4. While traveling in the Land of the Rising Sun, Naruto and the Daimyo's daughter fell in love, but he refused to let them marry and forced us to leave his country. When we returned home, Naruto begged you to petition the Daimyo on his behalf. He finally agreed to come here to negotiate and arrived with an army of half-men, half-dog, demon shinobi, a priestess, a monk, and three invisible demons who are bonded to the girl as her protectors. She is supposedly very beautiful and has several summoning contracts with various demons. The Daimyo himself is 8 feet tall, and very good-looking. _You_ seduced him into agreeing to their marriage, and he was so enamored with your … _charms_ that he may be returning to ply you with his riches and treasures to get you to return with him to his land. There are betting books as to whether or not you will go."

Tsunade spewed out the drink she had just taken.

"I take it that one is not true then, either," he laughed.

Blinking and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Tsunade told him, "Actually, that one is close to the story we are encouraging. _**Not**_ the part involving me, of course. If you are asked, you need to confirm that you and Naruto did travel across the sea, where he met Kagome and they fell in love. We are saying the Tsukikage is her guardian, and he did come here to negotiate the details of the marriage."

Jiraiya leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. "And the truth is?"

Sighing, Tsunade leaned forward, too. "The truth is that the Third Hokage sought out the Tsukikage of the Land of the Rising Sun shortly after Naruto's birth and signed a contract for an Enjo-sha for him. We received word that she was arriving as promised, but some Sound nin intercepted the message, and so they arrived just hours after we finally received the news. We found the contract in Hiruzen's files, but no one else knew about it. It was a disaster. Naruto was belligerent and the Tsukikage, who _is_ a powerful demon close to 7 feet tall, by the way, wanted to slaughter us all. He did bring his Personal Guard of about twenty shinobi with him, and a priestess, as well as Kagome and her teammates. We believe several of his shinobi were also demons."

Jiraiya whistled. "Damn. What did you do?"

"The girl intervened. She realized Naruto didn't know about the contract until just then, and that he was simply angry and not trying to insult her. She got the Tsukikage to sign an agreement for them to have a 3-month engagement period, so Naruto would have some time to get to know her and to get used to the idea. As I'm sure you know, breaking a contract like this would come with an honor price. She also made her own agreement with him, the details of which I cannot disclose to anyone, that in the case that Naruto still wants to break the contract after the 3 months is up, the Tsukikage will not demand that he commit seppuku, _and_ that _he_ won't kill him, or anyone else in the village, though a prohibitive penalty would still have to be paid."

"Well, gosh. What a prince! I can see why you invited him to a candlelight dinner in your rooms and greeted him wearing nothing but a red ribbon in your hair."

"_**WHAT?!**__"_

"Some of the rumors are rather explicit. So, what's the current situation with Naruto and … Kagome, I think you said?"

Tsunade sighed again. "Shikamaru thinks Naruto will come around. He does seem to like her, and he even carried her in here against her wishes earlier to have me check her out and tell her to curtail her training for now." Seeing the puzzled look on his face, she shook her head. "You're not going to believe this. She is a very powerful priestess, which is why she can help Naruto with the nine tails, but she is also a skilled shinobi. I even tested her. She offered her services to the village, and like a fool, I sent her out on a mission. Long story short, one of our nin was captured by a monk. I sent her with Team 10 and Kiba to rescue the nin and bring in the monk."

"You were thinking about her skills as a priestess."

"Yes," she nodded. "It turned out to be a trap by Orochimaru. For her. She ended up fighting Uchiha Sasuke, and he stabbed her with a poisoned kunai."

"Uchiha Sasuke? Now that's a twist. But she's alive, and she made it back to the village, and apparently is wanting to train as usual."

"Yes. And they did rescue Genma and bring in the monk, who was being controlled by hypnosis. But she's ridiculously stubborn. She tried to bluff me that her Tsukikage would _expect_ her to resume her usual routine immediately, instead of taking off my head for almost getting her captured or killed. He's not actually her guardian, but he is very fond of her."

"So, Naruto has a bride he doesn't want, and Orochimaru _does _want her."

"Oh, it's better than _that._ Shikamaru thinks Sasuke wants her, too, for completely unrelated reasons. Evidently, he cut some of her clothes off of her as they fought, and kissed her."

Jiraiya blinked. "Why didn't I ever think of that? It could revolutionize the way we wage battles. And train. We could start teaching classes in the Art of Exposing the Enemy."

Tsunade shook her finger in his face. "Don't you start! I may need you to help with the girl. And Naruto. The fact that Orochimaru wants her, and that others, including the Akatsuki, probably would, too, if it were known that she's an Enjo-sha, is why we are encouraging the stories that she and Naruto met previously and this is a love match. You need to consult with Shikamaru and Kakashi about what has been said here. Two shinobi from her village are staying here with her, and he says they have been very helpful in that regard. And we particularly have to protect her during this 3-month period."

"I take it she is reasonably attractive."

The Hokage rolled her eyes at him. "Just remember she's Naruto's fiancé."

"Who would have guessed there was more intrigue going on here at home than in all the lands I've been traveling—even the 'Land of Perilous Dangers,' if there were such a place," he laughed.

...

When Naruto knocked on Kagome's door, he was relieved to see she was wearing a white sundress with yellow flowers on it. It wasn't something she would wear if she was going to be training. The dress was short, with the hem hitting a good four inches above her knees, and the bodice tied at the back of her neck and dipped into a low vee, which wasn't immodest, but was still showing more cleavage than anything she had worn here in Konoha so far. Shikamaru had to hide a smile when he saw it. It was light and flirty and he was sure Naruto appreciated the picture of feminine beauty she presented in it, but he could see the rebellious fire in her eyes. She certainly didn't look like someone the Hokage had told to take it easy due to health concerns. He didn't doubt she had chosen it deliberately for that reason.

With a broad grin, the blond said, "I'll bet you wish Granny Tsunade could see you now. She'd have a hard time telling you that you're sick when you look like that." He winked at her.

Kagome's cheeks turned pink as she smiled at him. "I told you I was fine."

Shikamaru turned to look at Naruto appraisingly. _When did he become so observant? Maybe he knows her a little better than we thought._

"Want to get some breakfast? Then we could go to the marketplace and look around, if you want."

"Really?" she looked at him hopefully. _Maybe being told to do nothing isn't such a bad thing, after all._ She was surprised, but happy that he was volunteering to spend some time with her. "That would be nice." She took his hand without hesitation when he held it out to her.

"Maybe I'll see you two later. I need to go check in with Lady Tsunade again to see if she has any other tasks for me today. Working as one of her assistants is getting to be a real drag." Shikamaru told them.

"We can wait for you, if you want," Kagome offered.

"No, that's fine. I already had breakfast."

"Okay, see you later," Kagome waved.

Shikamaru smiled to himself again. Not only did Naruto not beg him to come along, but he had barely given him a backward glance as he walked along with Kagome. Maybe Lady Tsunade would forgive him for letting her go to the field instead of making her go to the hospital.

When he saw them in the marketplace a couple of hours later, Kagome, Ino, and Sakura were bargaining with a fruit vendor while Naruto and Chouji stood off to the side several feet away. Kagome turned to Naruto and held out a large, yellow nashi in one hand and a small bunch of dark purple Kyoha grapes in the other. He shrugged at her, then pointed to the pear. She set the grapes down and the vendor handed her a second nashi, which she put into a small basket with the other one. As he approached them, he saw that Shino and Kiba were crossing the street to join them, too, with Akamaru close on their heels.

"No, no, no, man! Wrong choice," Kiba told Naruto.

"What are you talking about?"

"The pear! You should have picked the grapes."

"But I like pears better."

Kiba sighed in exasperation. "That's not the point. You always choose the grapes. Pears are not romantic. They're messy. You take a bite and the juice dribbles down your chin. With grapes, you can lie back with your head in her lap and let her feed them to you one at a time."

He almost jumped when he heard Kagome's voice right behind him. "Or he could lie back with his head in my lap and I could cut the pear into slices and feed them to him," she grinned slyly as she stepped up beside him and ran her fingers through Akamaru's fur. "And if the juice dribbles a bit … well, I _like_ pear juice." She winked at Naruto. "Hinata and Tenten are in the dress shop over there. We're going to go say hello to them."

Naruto smirked at Kiba.

"I was going to agree with you, Kiba, but I have to confess she made a convincing argument," Shino told him.

"Now I want a pear," Chouji admitted.

Watching Kagome and the other girls walk away, the Inuzuka male said, "I have never been jealous of another man's chin before, you lucky dog."

As they all moved to follow the girls, Naruto glanced at the shop they had been standing next to—it was the bookstore. "I'll catch up with you in a minute," he told them. Making sure none of them were watching him, he slipped into the shop. He frowned as he stood in front of the section he had been looking for. He didn't have the slightest idea which one to get.

"It's nice to see you finally show an appreciation for fine literature."

He closed his eyes. _For a man who could never show up for training when he was supposed to, he sure seems to show up everywhere I __**don't **__want him to be._

"Jiraiya will be so pleased. Is there a particular volume you were looking for?"

Sighing, he turned to see Kakashi standing there with an obvious smirk under his mask and his visible eye crinkled in amusement. "Quit pretending there's any literary value to them. Just go ahead and tell me which one I should get. I know you're dying to."

"Hmmm." Putting his hand to his chin, the silver-haired jounin looked at the bookshelves thoughtfully. "Well, isn't Icha Icha Tactics the one Jiraiya wrote when you were traveling together? I believe you said you had read some of the rough draft and that it was 'boring,' and you couldn't even read all of it. Personally, I think there's a lot of wisdom and previously unexplored, and even _eye-opening_, territory in it. I'm not sure Icha Icha Innocence is what you're looking for, with all of the philosophical musings on pure love, but there's so much depth and _detail_ to the hero and heroine's interactions that it is simply impossible to put it down once you start. Ebisu's favorite is Icha Icha Violence. He is constantly praising the way it depicts the bonds between a man and a woman so strongly. I must say the _variety_ of situations they find themselves in is unparalleled in the annals of great literature. Of course, you can't go wrong with the original. Icha Icha Paradise is a timeless classic. However, it's in three parts, and if you were to ask me to choose just one part to recommend, I would be unable to do so. The entire piece of work is a masterpiece, and must be taken as a whole to be fully appreciated. If there is another book that can take you on such a journey of self-discovery as it moves from the joys and pangs of new, young love and that first glimpse of _budding womanhood_ to a much more mature and fulfilling love, once you have searched through the beauties of life, with the added zest of the hero's _many, many experiences_ along the way, well … I just can't think of one. Fortunately for you, every single volume includes state-of-the-art graphics, _in color."_

"Your emphasis on certain things is kind of creepy, you know."

"If he hasn't read them before, he should definitely start with Paradise," an elderly man declared.

"No, no! Today's young men need more direct instructional information and relationship tips. The author was wise enough to see that. He should read Tactics first," another man said.

"Hey! Aren't you the guy who is marrying that Daimyo's daughter? Here, son, you need this one," he held out a copy of Violence. "Wait. Or this one," he picked up a copy of Innocence. "Take both."

Several men in the store had gathered around to offer their own opinions as Kakashi was expounding the virtues of the various books in the series, while several feminine snorts and other sounds of derision were heard. "Bunch of perverts," one woman hissed.

Cheeks burning, Naruto covered his eyes with one hand and said, "Just give me the red one." He did _not_ want to be caught with the orange one that Kakashi always seemed to have in reserve. That would be an obvious tell. He made his escape while the men continued to argue over which book was the best in the series.

Hiding the book in an inside pocket of his jacket, he looked around for Kagome and his friends. Strolling as nonchalantly as he could over to join them, he cringed when he heard a toneless voice behind him say, "I read them in the order they were written in. The thought progression of the author seemed a little haphazard, but …"

"Not. One. Word," he whispered threateningly. "I mean it, Sai. If you mention I have this book to _anyone_, I swear I'll kick your ass."

The pale nin blinked several times. He would never understand this teammate of his. Shouldn't they be able to bond over shared reading experiences?

Coming from the opposite direction, Neji and Lee also joined the group of guys now waiting outside the dress shop. "Hi, guys! You haven't seen Gai-sensei, have you?" the green-clad shinobi asked.

"He's probably at the Hokage Tower," Shikamaru told him. "Lady Tsunade is meeting with several of the team leaders. I think it has to do with her cutting back the number of outside missions she is accepting right now."

"I wondered about that," Neji said thoughtfully. "I thought we would be heading out today, but Tenten said our mission had been canceled. What do you think is behind this?"

"I don't think I am giving away anything classified if I say that some new intel indicates we have had an unusual number of spies who have come through Konoha recently. So, we can probably expect to be assigned some security duties here in the village. I'm sure the team leaders will have more details for us later today."

"Hey, big brother! How's the training going?" Konohamaru asked Naruto as he, Udon, and Moegi ran up to the group of guys.

"Okay. I'm taking a break today. How about you? Have you been training hard?"

"Oh, yeah! I've got a new one—it'll blow you away," he bragged. "_All_ of you."

"He's telling the truth," Udon nodded enthusiastically, while Moegi just crossed her arms with a huff.

"Yeah? Well, let's see it, squirt."

"Konohamaru! You're supposed to be looking for a missing cat," Ebisu scolded him as he followed his team.

"We've found that cat four times already! Don't worry, we'll find him again. Just give me a minute so I can show Naruto my new jutsu. Check this out!" Quickly moving through the hand signs, Konohamaru disappeared in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by a small woman with long, wavy black hair standing there with her back to them. She glanced over her shoulder with her eyes looking down at the ground before tossing her head in the opposite direction, so when she turned toward them in slow motion her hair flowed out around her, flashing glimpses of bare buttocks and rounded hips, which completely distracted from the four shuriken she threw from the holster strapped to her right thigh, which was the only article of clothing she was wearing. They flew past Naruto, missing him by mere inches as they hit the wall behind him, landing in a perfect vertical line. Full, perky breasts with pale pink nipples bounced from the movement as they peeked out through the thick curtain of inky hair. She took a couple of steps toward Naruto and her lips parted as she took a deep breath. Large, strikingly blue eyes looked up at him, then her lips curved in a shy smile as she glanced down and tucked a strand of hair behind one of her ears before looking up at him again.

Ebisu and Lee fell over in a dead faint, while Kiba spouted a massive nosebleed. Shikamaru leaned back heavily against the outside wall of the dress shop, and Chouji stood there wide-eyed and dropped his bag of chips. Shino, Neji, and Sai just stood there, not moving a muscle, with a just a small trickle of blood flowing from Shino's nose.

After staring slackjawed for a few seconds, Naruto yelled, "Konohamaru, you little bastard!" He tackled the naked woman, causing him to transform back into his normal form. "You can't do that! That's my fiancé!"

"What? Seriously? You're engaged to Kagome? Wow! I heard you were getting married, but I sure didn't know it was to her," the boy explained, wiggling out of his grasp.

"That's true," Udon tried to help his friend. "When he told me about her, he said he thought she must be Genma's latest ..."

Naruto growled and lunged at both boys.

Ebisu sat up and blinked. "_That's_ Naruto's fiancé?"

"Yeah, I'd say that was pretty accurate," Chouji nodded, bending down to pick up his bag of chips. "Right size breasts and everything."

"I agree," Sai said. "The proportions seemed very realistic."

Shino adjusted his glasses and nodded, too.

Kiba laughed. "I'm surprised you even noticed, Sai."

"A good shinobi always pays close attention to details," the pale nin told him.

"Quite right," Neji agreed. "She actually tucked that strand of hair behind her ear like that a couple of times when we all had dinner last week, so that was a nice touch."

"Damn it, Konohamaru! Now these guys will be picturing her naked all the time!"

"If it makes you feel any better, Naruto, I already was," Kiba said with a grin. The blond tackled him next.

"Oh no! He is right! How will I be able to train with her now?" Lee lamented.

"Isn't anyone impressed with the way I incorporated the shuriken in the jutsu? I couldn't get them to glow pink like hers, but she used a move like that when she was sparring with Genma—the look over one shoulder, then turning in the opposite direction and throwing them." He walked over to retrieve them from the wall. "It took a lot of practice to be able to throw them while making sure her hair was flying out enough to expose everything and have them land in a perfect line like that," he grumbled.

"Hi, guys!" Tenten called. "What's so interesting out here? We thought you'd be at the dango shop." She walked over and poked Shino in the chest. "Just wait til you see the dress Hinata got for your date tonight."

"Really?" he smiled at the blushing Hyuuga female. "I'll look forward to it."

All of the girls smiled at them. Seeing that Neji and Lee had joined the other guys, Kagome said, "Oh, good! I'm glad you're here, Lee. I should be able to resume training tomorrow, if you're available."

Lee's eyes widened as he saw her, and after looking her up and down, he fell over again. Ebisu joined him.

"Oh, for crying out loud! She has clothes on, you perverts!" Naruto kicked them both.

"Um … what?" Kagome stared at them.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

No one said a word. Then Moegi walked over to Kagome and studied her closely as she walked around her in a circle. "Wow. I hate to admit it, because he's such a little pervert, but he really did a good job."

"Thank you," the genin grinned.

Kagome gave her a puzzled look, then smiled at the boy. "Hello, Konohamaru."

"Hi, Kagome," he said, as he shrank away from the look on Naruto's face. "Well, I guess we'd better go find that cat, right guys?"

"Uh, yeah," Udon nodded.

Konohamaru grabbed Moegi's arm while she continued to look Kagome over. "Bye!" And he walked away quickly as he pulled her down the street.

Everyone could still hear her say, "I think the big guy was right. You really _did_ make her breasts the right size. I thought they might be too big for her height, but they weren't. And you didn't make them too bouncy, either. They were just right."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked around at all the guys. "He _didn't!"_

"It looks like he did. Of course, we won't know for sure without a proper measurement …" Sai's words were cut off when Sakura punched him.

Ino covered her mouth with her hand, but a giggle escaped, while Hinata and Tenten both turned red.

Kagome gave them a puzzled look. "What did he do?"

Kiba grinned. "Ask Naruto about the special jutsu he taught him. Konohamaru improved it."

"Uh, I'll tell you about it later," he said, grabbing her hand. "We should go if we're going to have a picnic."

"All right. Oh, Neji? Would you like to spar tomorrow afternoon? Tenten is going to help me work with some weapons. And tell Lee I'll be at the training ground in the morning if he can join me."

"That would be fine."

"You know, if you ever want to work with that bo of yours, my pa is pretty good," Chouji told her.

"Really? That would be wonderful! I'd love to meet him," she said with a smile. She waved as Naruto pulled her down the street.

"Dango or ice cream?" Chouji asked the others. And they kicked Lee and Ebisu until they got up.

Sitting up, Yamato shook his head. "Are they gone?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied, having recovered sooner. Yamato had found Kakashi in the bookstore, and the two of them had just stepped outside and spotted Naruto and the others when Konohamaru showed up.

"Damn. That Konohamaru is really good with that. What made him use Kagome as a model for that jutsu?"

"She's a good one to use. For us, the shock of her being someone we actually know probably multiplied the effect it had. Rock Lee is afraid to help her with her training now," he chuckled.

Yamato turned pale. "Oh no. I don't know if I'll be able to look her in the eye now, either. That image is kind of burned into my brain."

"Nice, huh?" Kakashi's visible eye crinkled as he smiled.

"Ah, Kakashi! Just the man I'm looking for," Jiraiya called out.

"Jiraiya. Nice to see you back in Konoha. I trust you had some information for the Hokage, which led her to call everyone in for a meeting."

"Not _everyone_ showed up," Yamato grumbled, giving him a pointed look.

"Technically, _you_ are the leader of Team Kakashi right now," he pointed out.

Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, I guess I did have some interesting news, not the least of which were some intriguing rumors about Naruto I heard in a few villages. Tsunade tells me there is some truth to them. I'm looking forward to meeting this 'fiancé' of his."

"Tell you what, why don't you go ask the Third Hokage's grandson to show you Naruto's fiancé?" Kakashi suggested with a sly grin.

"But …" Yamato shut up when Kakashi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"The Third Hokage's grandson? Has he befriended the girl?"

"I'd say he has gotten to know her quite well. I think he will give you a different view of her than you might get from other people—a much clearer picture. I believe you will find him in that direction," he pointed down the street.

"I may just do that. It might be good to see what impressions other people have of her before I meet her myself. Tsunade said she is irritatingly stubborn. What do _you_ think of her?"

"The more I see of her, the more I like her."

Yamato choked.

"Good. We should get together for drinks this evening," the older nin said, as he started to walk off.

"Sounds good," Kakashi agreed.

"That was evil," Yamato gave him a disapproving look.

…

Back at Kagome's apartment, Naruto sat at the table and watched her prepare the food for their picnic. "I don't think you should have made plans for sparring and training tomorrow. Lady Tsunade might want you to rest another day or two."

"I'm fine. And if I didn't go ahead and make plans with the others now, they might make other plans, and then tomorrow I'd be scrambling to find other people to work with. Would you prefer a ponzu citrus dressing or sesame sauce with the rei-shabu?"

"Hmmm. Sesame sauce. You're missing the point. I'm saying you shouldn't be making plans to do anything tomorrow. Because you should rest another day or two."

"Oh, I see. At first, you were _suggesting_ that I not make any plans, and now you are _telling_ me not to make any plans. Is that it? You know it isn't smart to pick a fight with the person who's fixing your food, right?" she said, pointing the knife she was using at him. "Edamame or cucumber with miso?"

"Edamame. I'm not picking a fight, I'm just _saying_ that you should rest more," he explained.

"Oh, so you're _not_ going to haul me in to see the Hokage tomorrow if I don't do what you want."

He couldn't keep the smirk off his face, even when she threw a soybean pod and hit him in the forehead with it.

"How many times do I have to say I'm fine? Look," she twirled around. "I'm the picture of health, remember?"

The sight of her hair flowing in the air around her as she turned made him think of Konohamaru's sexy jutsu. He stared at her for a few minutes. More precisely, he stared at her breasts. _It really __**does**__ look like he made them the right size._ He blinked a few times.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," she frowned at him. "Ume or salmon onigiri?"

"Um … both?" he said hopefully.

She smiled. "Okay."

"There you are, Kagome-sama," Miroku said, as he and Shippou entered the apartment. "We were beginning to wonder if he had kidnapped you for more nefarious purposes than simply going to see the Hokage."

"That's why we didn't go looking for you," Shippou grinned.

"Is a picnic nefarious enough?" Kagome asked.

"It could be," the monk waggled his eyebrows at her. "I trust you have been feeling all right so far."

Heaving a big sigh, Kagome closed her eyes and shook her head in exasperation. "I'm FINE!"

"You fixed kara-age! And korokke! I hope you're planning on leaving some for us," Shippou said, as she smacked the hand that was reaching for a potato croquette.

"Yours is over on the other counter. I just hope the chicken turned out as good as Miroku's. He makes the best kara-age."

"Thank you. I'm sure this will be delicious."

"Yeah, as long as you only used 1 inch of ginger instead of 10 like you did that one time. That was horrible!" Shippou made some gagging sounds.

"That _was_ pretty awful, wasn't it?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "I promise I have paid much closer attention to the recipes Miroku gave me ever since that. I really appreciate the way all of you put up with my culinary efforts when Miroku was teaching me."

"Don't mention it, Kagome-sama. You were a quick learner."

"_You_ taught her how to cook?" Naruto asked in surprise.

Kagome smiled. "He was the only one with enough patience to try to teach me. The only thing I had learned from my mother before she died was how to fix rice balls. When I was living with the Band of Seven, we all lived off of those and whatever stew Mukotsu felt like fixing. When I teamed up with the Band of Five, it was like discovering food for the first time. Miroku could be a chef."

"You are far too kind. So, Naruto, do you have a suitably secluded location in mind for your picnic?" the monk asked.

"Well, Kagome is going to show me where her sanctuary is."

"Good thinking, Kagome. A nice little clandestine setting—perfect for a picnic, or for trysting, away from prying eyes," the kitsune said suggestively. "Except for the ever-present ANBU, of course. But don't let that bother you. I hear they are reliably discreet. Their presence could actually spice things up a bit. So, you could literally strip down and do _anything_ there."

Rolling her eyes at him, Kagome said, "That's my sacred refuge you're talking about, you know. And while we're talking about it, and the ANBU, if you two don't mind, I could use a little unnatural fog there tonight since I thought I might go for a ritual purification to mitigate the lingering effects from the poison."

Naruto stood up and stalked over to her. Leaning down so his face was even with hers, he looked her in the eyes and said, "Lingering effects? I thought you were _fine."_

"I _am,_ I am. It's more symbolic than anything else."

"Good thinking, Kagome. He doesn't know much about reiki and spiritual, priestess-ly things, so he'll probably buy that," Shippou said, as he took a bite out of a potato croquette.

"Shippou!" She grinned a little sheepishly at Naruto when he gave her an angry glare. "You're really cute," she told him, touching his lips lightly with her finger.

"Nice diversionary tactic," Miroku drawled, as he picked up a handful of edamame. "Did you see that, Shippou?"

"Yeah, nice."

"You're definitely going back to see Granny Tsunade in the morning before you even think about doing anything else."

"Thanks a lot, guys."

"No need for thanks, Kagome-sama. We're always happy to help," the monk smiled at her. "Here, we'll even pack your basket for you so you can continue to try distracting him." Shippou held his hands cupped up in front of his chest and jumped up and down a couple of times, while his hands simulated some wild bouncing.

Smacking a hand over her eyes while her cheeks took on a rosy hue, she told them, "I need some new roommates."

…

Naruto looked around while Kagome spread out a blanket and set the food out. The meadow was lush and green, full of the sounds and signs of life. He could hear several different species of birds calling out, and he saw three deer at the edge of the trees. There were several smaller creatures, like squirrels in the trees and rabbits on the ground. He could hear the buzz of the dragonflies around the water basin at the bottom of the waterfall, and he spotted a blue rat snake slithering away from the edge of the water. It was the fourth one he had seen today since they left the paved streets of the village. He hoped she wouldn't freak out if she saw it, but considering she had recently been poisoned by snake venom, she might be understandably wary of it. But rat snakes weren't venomous, so he wasn't really concerned about it.

"This is a nice place, but why do you call it your sanctuary?"

Kagome smiled as she looked around. "Just listen to the hum of life all around you. It speaks to me. I can feel it in the air. The ki in the water, the earth, the trees, and living creatures _pulses_ here. I feel like I can connect to everyone and everything - the past, present and future. I consecrated the area around the waterfall so I can use if for mediation, prayer, and purification. Are you ready to eat?"

"Yeah." He sat down beside her and accepted a cup of barley tea. "And the purification ritual involves bathing there?"

"Yes. Clean body, clean mind, clean spirit, hence the meditation and prayer, also. All three need to be in harmony to achieve purification, which is basically peace, health, energy, and strength, which is found in the absence of anything that would taint it."

"And those two perverts are going to guard you?" he asked doubtfully, as he paused before taking a bite of the rei-shabu.

She laughed. "Yes, though that isn't a required part of the ritual. However, when I am immersed in the flow of ki, I could be open to attack. I'm aware of the presence of others, but I can't react to it or else I will disrupt the flow, so I have learned to tune it out. I can't surround the area in a barrier for the same reason. I give and receive ki from everything surrounding the area. A barrier would cut it off. So, Sesshoumaru decided he would stand guard for me, and he appointed my teammates to do the same in his absence."

Picking up a rice ball, she said, "I hear you're friends with the Kazekage of the Sand Village, and that he thinks very highly of you. How did you meet him?"

"Gaara?" He scratched the back of his head and thought for a minute. "We met when he and his brother and sister came here for the chuunin exams. He was a jinchuriki, too, and his village was using him as a weapon in a plot against us. Everyone in his village was afraid of him, and he had no friends. I knew what that felt like. We were alike in a lot of ways. When our village was attacked, and Orochimaru fought with the Third Hokage, Gaara fought with Sasuke, but Sasuke was hurting from that curse mark Orochimaru had given to him earlier. Gaara grabbed Sakura and threatened to kill her. So, I had to protect them. I fought with Gaara, and when I beat him, he was able to see that he had a choice and that he could have a different kind of life. And I guess we've been friends ever since then. He made a lot of changes in his life and now, as the Kazekage, he has the love and support of his entire village. Everyone was really upset when the Akatsuki captured him and extracted the one-tailed beast."

Surprised, Kagome put the korokke back down on her plate and asked, "They extracted the one-tailed beast and he survived? I thought that would be fatal."

"Well, it did kill him. But Granny Chiyo used some of my chakra along with hers and performed a forbidden jutsu, exchanging her life for his. I think it was her way of making it up to him for being the one who sealed the one-tailed beast in him to begin with."

"So, he is the Kazekage, and is much-loved and admired, and his village is now allied with your village, because of you."

"Nah," he said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's all him. I just beat some sense into him," he grinned as he took another piece of chicken.

"No, you did more than that. You showed him a better way, and instead of holding a grudge against him for what he did, you offered to be his friend. Most people wouldn't have done that," she caressed his cheek lightly with her fingers. Thinking back over what he had said, she asked, "What kind of curse mark does Sasuke have?"

He winced a bit at having mentioned Sasuke to her. He was sure the missing nin was not one of her favorite people. "Orochimaru bit him and now he has this mark on the back of his neck. Whenever he uses it for power, it spreads. At first, though, it caused him a lot of pain. It doesn't seem to hurt him anymore, but now it changes him physically."

Her brow furrowed as she thought about it. "He sealed something inside of Sasuke that he can access for more power. There's always a price for using someone else's power. Why is Orochimaru helping him?"

"Kakashi-sensei put a seal over it to suppress it, but Sasuke keeps using it. Orochimaru wants his body—like he's going to take it over and use it for himself."

"It's extremely dangerous for Sasuke to use that power. The more he uses it, the more he acclimates his body to Orochimaru's control. I can remove it."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I wish I had known he had it," she sighed.

Looking off into the distance, Naruto told her, "Sasuke says he is willing to let Orochimaru take over his body if it means he can kill Itachi."

"And that's why you have to reach him as soon as possible," she said softly.

"It's one of the reasons. If I don't reach him soon, he's going to lose himself entirely."

"You'll reach him. I think he is … looking for something. An answer to something he can't understand. For someone who wants to cut all ties with his past, he sure seems interested in what you are doing. So, I think the Sasuke you knew is still inside there."

Perking up a bit, Naruto asked, "Really?"

"Yes. You know, Neji has told me his experience during his fight with you, and how you changed the way he views his life. Kiba credits you for keeping him fired up about improving his own skills, and Hinata says she adopted your nindo as her own because she admires you so much. Sakura was also inspired by you leaving to train with the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya—so inspired that she approached Lady Tsunade for training. I've heard you have made many friends in many of the other villages, too. You do know that's unusual for a shinobi who is simply carrying out his duty on missions. You give more than your skill and talents. And you don't simply defeat your enemies, either. You try to understand where they are coming from. And you always try to protect your friends. You will bring back your friend, and you will be a great Hokage someday."

Cheeks red with embarrassment at her praise, the blond mumbled, "You think so?"

"Yes, I do." She leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his.

When she sat back up and smiled at him, he stared at her. Maybe this was the right moment for the move from the book. He had barely had a chance to flip through the book he had bought, but he had excused himself for a little while when they first went back to her apartment and she started setting out everything to prepare the food. Fortunately, one of the pictures caught his eye. There was a chapter where the hero and heroine went on a picnic, and in the picture, the woman was wearing a dress that was actually very similar to Kagome's.

"So, what is the special jutsu you taught Konohamaru?"

His eyes grew wide and he choked on his own saliva. _Seriously? She had to ask that __**now**__? _"It's nothing really. Just a silly little thing."

"Can you show me?"

"No! I mean, you wouldn't be interested in it. It's only for use against certain opponents." _Let it go! _He was starting to feel panicky.

"It specifically targets certain opponents? What kind?"

_She's not going to let it go._ He sighed and slumped down. "Guys."

"Guys? You mean you can only use it against males?" Her curiosity was really piqued now. "That's unusual. What does it do?"

He let out a hollow laugh. "Well, it renders them useless. Some pass out. It can also make some of them do anything I want them to."

Still trying to figure out what, exactly, it could be, she asked, "What do you call it?"

"It's my Sexy Jutsu," he admitted with a slight cringe.

"_Sexy Jutsu?"_ She looked completely confused.

He sighed again and set his plate down. "It's this." He performed the hand signs and disappeared in a puff in smoke.

Kagome's eyes widened as she saw a voluptuous blonde wearing a skimpy, purple devil costume and sporting two long pigtails take his place. "Oh," her mouth formed the word, but no sound came out. Her brow furrowed a bit. _What do I do if my fiancé makes a sexier woman than I do?_ She looked at the blonde's huge breasts and then down at herself. _I don't think I quite meet his standards of sexy._

Transforming back, Naruto's cheeks burned as he looked at her for her reaction. He was surprised she hadn't already hit him. He was doubly surprised to see her frowning as she looked down at herself. _Seriously?_ _ She's got more than enough in that department._

When she looked up, she smiled a bit self-consciously. She had always known she could not match Kikyou in beauty, and when she had found out Naruto had been in love with Sakura, she had admitted to herself that she didn't have the exotic appeal of the other girl's unusual hair color and those pretty, clear green eyes she had. Her blue eyes were a bit unusual with her black hair, but even Naruto's eyes were a prettier shade of blue than hers. Her only outstanding feature was her lack of height, which had nothing to do with beauty and everything to do with not being taken seriously. She was always being called a 'little girl.' And now her fiancé was showing a partiality for some rather impressive breasts. Well, there was nothing she could about that. She was who she was, and she had never been interested in comparing herself to others. That was a waste of time. She always focused on being the best _she_ could be. She would just have to work with what she had. So there was just a hint of wistfulness in her eyes before she straightened her shoulders and laughed resignedly. "You would have Miroku and Shippou on their knees with that. I'm not sure they would be helpless, though. Miroku would probably grope you."

Still trying to decipher her initial reaction, he tentatively mentioned what brought the whole subject up in the first place. "My sexy jutsu has blonde hair and kind of resembles me except in feminine form, and Konohamaru's sexy jutsu used to have brown hair and resemble him as a female. But he figured out a way to improve it."

She remembered the others had said something about how he had made the breasts the 'right size.' Her mind boggled a bit at the thought of the size of the knockers _that_ jutsu must have. "I can imagine."

"Nooo," Naruto said slowly. "I don't think you can. He transformed into _you._"

"Me? How could he hope to have the effect you described with an average-looking woman, even in a devil costume? Oh wait ! He made some enhancements," she gestured in front of her chest. "I guess that would be rather shocking."

_Average-looking woman? _ "No. The devil costume is a new thing I'm doing. No enhancements. He transformed into a perfect copy of you. _Naked._ Well, except for a holster on one thigh. He threw some shuriken past me. Good thing he wasn't trying to hit me," he admitted.

She blinked. "Naked?" At his nod, she said, "Well, I guess that would be shocking enough to get a response, especially from people who know me."

"Trust me, they may have been shocked, but that wasn't their primary response. You _do_ know that I'm the envy of half the men in this village because I have such a beautiful fiancé, right?" he tipped her chin up with his hand so she had to look him in the eyes.

"That's very kind of you to say," she said with a genuine smile.

He frowned. "No, it's the truth." Did she really not realize that she's beautiful and sexy? How did that happen? A small voice said it might have something to do with having two fiancés who said they didn't want to marry her. He took the plate from her hand and set it aside, then scooted back a little so he could lean back against some of the protruding roots of the tree they had set up under and pulled her onto his lap. He made sure to do it like the book and wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her up against his chest while his other hand guided one of her legs over his so she was straddling him.

He could see that she was surprised by his maneuvering, but there was a sparkle in her eyes when she smiled at him. And then she wrapped her arms around him and leaned forward and kissed him. Just like the book! Maybe Pervy Sage knew what he was writing about after all. This position was _much_ better than sitting up against the tree trunk with her across his lap.

The softness of her lips and the gentle pressure of them against his own, combined with her slight weight against him made him feel very masculine and strong. He moved his hand to her upper back to press her to him more fully, while his other hand slid up her leg under the edge of her dress to rest on a softly rounded hip. She startled at the unexpectedly bold move and the intimacy of the touch, and broke away from the kiss to look into his eyes. What she saw made her inhale sharply and her eyes darkened to a deep midnight blue in response. Holding her gaze, he lifted his head to capture her lips again, and was relieved to feel her melt back into his embrace.

Then it was his turn to be surprised when he felt her hands roam over his back and slide up under his shirt. When she sat all the way up, he lifted a brow at her questioningly. But his eyes widened when she tugged his shirt over his head, and he couldn't contain a grin when she ran her hands across his chest. _Maybe I should do the same thing with that dress._ Then all thoughts flew out of his head when she leaned down and left a trail of kisses down his neck. His hand tightened on her hip and he shifted slightly underneath her. Feathery-light touches grazed one of his nipples and he shivered at the sensation. He felt her warm breath on his ear when she whispered, "You might make a stunning woman, but I think _this_ should be your sexy jutsu."

He could feel his face heating up, along with another part of his anatomy, at her words, but he swallowed thickly. No one had ever said anything like that to him before. Idiot, knucklehead, loser—he'd heard those, and others that were not as polite. A lot. Sexy? Not so much. His arm tightened around her.

With a low rumble from deep in his chest, he swiftly rolled them over so she was lying flat on the ground. He held himself over her by his forearms so he didn't crush her. Unlike this morning when he had been half-asleep, he was already comfortably nestled between her thighs. And thank goodness there wasn't a monk, lazy genius, or perverted sensei within a mile of here. As he looked down at her, he couldn't help but notice how small she was compared to him. She looked so delicate, with those large, dark blue eyes and just a hint of pink across those cheekbones. He knew for a fact that those full, pink lips were as soft and smooth as they looked. When she lifted a hand and touched his cheek with the backs of her fingers, he closed his eyes. And when he felt her lips touch his, he nearly groaned with the effort to let her take it slow and gentle instead of just crushing her to him and taking it up a notch. But he couldn't stop the hand that had crept up by her shoulder from tugging on the piece of cloth tied at the back of her neck. He felt it come loose with barely any effort and he was glad she had tied it in a bow instead of a knot.

Moving slightly, he began to press soft kisses along her jawline. Then he moved down further and nuzzled the delicate skin at the juncture between her neck and shoulder, causing her to shudder delicately. When he sucked gently on the sensitive spot, he heard a small, content sigh escape her. She didn't protest when he slowly peeled the top of her dress down over her chest, baring her … bra. It was a rather sexy, frilly, low-cut bra with one thin strap going around her neck, but … the woman in the book wasn't wearing a bra. He didn't have a clue how one was supposed to remove that mysterious and confounding article of clothing. His hand hovered over the scantily-clad mound for a second before making contact. He expected to get clobbered. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted as she took in a sharp breath, but she didn't move otherwise. He realized she was waiting for something. For his reaction? Did she really think he might be disappointed? He squeezed gently, noting that his hand did not cover the whole breast. They were actually bigger than he'd thought. Her clothes were deceptive. He spread his fingers wider and squeezed again. There was definitely a significant amount of overflow. "Konohamaru didn't get it right." She laughed as her eyelashes fluttered and she opened her eyes. "Now what?" she asked him.

_Now what? If she didn't have that bra on, I'd show her __**now what**__. But as it is, I could do this all day._ He moved his hand slightly to get a different grip and she inhaled again in surprise. He moved his hand across her breast again and she nearly jumped. Now he smiled. He could feel her nipple through the thin material, and apparently, it was very sensitive to touch. "Maybe we should see what gets a bigger reaction," he leaned down to kiss her gently. "A light touch," he stroked the peak of her breast with the tip of a finger, eliciting a small intake of breath, "or a firmer touch." He kissed her again as he rubbed his thumb across her nipple. This time he could feel the shiver that ran through her as a small moan caught in her throat.

"That's … a bit unfair."

"You're right. We can't neglect the other one."

"I was thinking maybe I should try to get a reaction from _you."_ She raised a knee and ran one of her feet along the back of his leg, then raised her hips and pressed against him suggestively. His mind blanked and the outside world faded away. He didn't know how much time had passed as he was lost in a haze of long, mind-numbing kisses, pleasurable touches, and a slow, building pressure, that kept him wanting more, where the only sounds were soft moans and the loud beating of his own heart, until his lips met with a barrier. He shook his head slightly and focused his eyes on … that damn bra. He ran his hand along the strap. He lifted her slightly so he could check the back. _Where the hell is a snap or a zipper or whatever?_ "Naruto?" He glared at the frilly, white nemesis. It was coming off if he had to use his teeth!

"Ahem."

At the sound of someone clearing his throat, Naruto looked around and saw the shadow of a familiar profile sitting about ten feet away.

"Damn it, Shikamaru. Why is it that every time I look around, you're there?"

"Why is it that every time the Hokage sends me to tell you something, you're all over your fiancé?" the other nin smiled at him. "Good chicken," he indicated the plate he was holding.

"Just how long have you been sitting there?" the blond grumbled as he sat up and helped Kagome sit up, too. Blushing profusely, she turned her back to Shikamaru as she quickly tied the top of her dress behind her neck again.

"Two pieces of kara-age and some tamagoyaki. My compliments to the chef. I left your pears."

Naruto glared at him as he stood up. "So what does Granny want?"

"She wanted me to warn you about being off somewhere by yourselves. I told you about the new security measure she's putting in place. But even with that and the ANBU already assigned to keep watch over her," he tipped his chin toward Kagome, "Lady Tsunade is still uneasy about either of you being away from the hub of the village without more people with you."

_I forgot about the damn ANBU._ "So, no more picnics."

"You can have more picnics—as long as you have Chouji and me come along. Naturally, we wouldn't interfere with your date. We'd be quiet," he grinned. "You'd have to pack more food, though."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at him. "I'm beginning to think my friends are as bad as _her_ friends."

"No need to be so grumpy. I was just sitting over here watching the clouds, listening to the waterfall, and enjoying the chicken until I thought you were going to chew through her bra. Lovers throughout the ages have been thwarted by the intricate clasps on bras. I am convinced they were either invented by a woman expressly for the purpose of frustrating men or by a man determined to preserve the chastity of his daughters past the point of chastity belts. Very troublesome."

Kagome covered her mouth, but couldn't hold in a fit of giggles.

Naruto looked at her in surprise. He was glad she wasn't too upset or embarrassed about being interrupted like that. _With her friends, I guess she's used to voyeurs._ "Can I use your waterfall?" he asked her.

"It's not _my_ waterfall. It's just special to me. Why?"

"I'm hoping the water is cold."

"Cold? Why?" She stood up and straightened out the skirt of her dress.

"Because you're so hot," he leered at her.

Her face turned red. "You're a shameless flatterer. Enjoy the water. I'm going to gather the plants and flowers I need for tonight."

"Don't go far."

As she took the basket and walked into the woods, Shikamaru stood and walked over to the waterfall's basin with him. "Naruto, I hope you know the gods were smiling on you when they made that woman."

"That woman thinks she's _average-looking._ She wasn't even mad about Konohamaru's sexy jutsu. She just didn't understand why he would make it look like her if he wanted to have an effect on men. She thought he must have made the boobs bigger." He jumped into the water.

When he surfaced, Shikamaru had to ask, "Did he?"

"Not big enough," the blond smirked.

"I could have gone my whole life being happy not to know that."

Pulling on his shirt after getting out of the water, Naruto sat down beside the other nin. "Go ahead."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been looking at me like that ever since you got back from that mission. You looked like that when you told me Sasuke was the one who stabbed Kagome with a poisoned kunai. So, whatever it is that you _didn't_ tell me, go ahead and tell me."

Shikamaru sighed. "Sasuke was sure he would succeed in capturing Kagome and then we would have had to come back here and tell you everything he said and did. So he did things to be deliberately provocative—to get you riled up. Because of that, I wasn't sure I _should_ tell you. After all, she did get away from him, so anything he was implying he would have done to her was moot."

"Huh?"

"He deliberately said and did things so you would think he would do other things, but since he doesn't have her, the question of whether or not he would actually do them doesn't matter, because he can't."

Naruto blinked a bit. "O-kaaaay. What kind of things?"

"When he found out you weren't already married, which Orochimaru must have assumed since he intercepted the message from the Tsukikage, Sasuke told her you didn't appreciate her or else you would have already married her."

"Great."

"He asked if you were waiting for him to come back and be your best man, and told her you were too foolish to just take her to your bed."

"No way! Sasuke said that?"

"He did. She asked him if he wanted some tips from you."

"What?!"

"Then he told her he didn't believe her, and that you never do anything unless he does it first, so he suggested he should do you both a favor and take her to _his_ bed."

"What?! That's crazy! Sasuke wouldn't …"

"She didn't let his words get to her. And she managed to hit him a few times. I think he thought he could just walk up and grab her, but she forced him to fight, and to use the sharingan."

"Wait. You're saying she _fought_ with Sasuke?" the blond was astounded. "I thought … well, I don't know what I thought about how it happened. "

"When we found Genma, he was unconscious behind a complicated reiki barrier the monk had set up. Kagome was able to pass through it and had partially healed his injuries when Sasuke showed up. The rest of us could not get through the barrier. Genma knew they were after Kagome, so he got between her and Sasuke. Then Sasuke said they didn't need him anymore, and he ran him through with his sword. Kagome managed to get Genma out, but she had to keep Sasuke away for him to escape. She surprised him with a strike from her bo. Then Sasuke managed to get between her and the barrier to keep her trapped there. Because of the close quarters, they just fought with their weapons and some basic taijutsu."

"And he stabbed her with a poisoned kunai when they were fighting."

"Yes, after her sword exploded and knocked his sword out of his hand. I don't think he was planning to kill her, though. He used it to bargain with her. He told her he'd give her the antidote if she stopped fighting and went with him willingly. He wanted you to worry about him having her. He's changed, Naruto. He's not the same guy he used to be."

"I know." _And if I don't reach him soon, he never will be._

As tired as he had been from exerting himself all day in his efforts to master the technique he had been working on so hard, he had been happy to stop when Kakashi told him Kagome was back. Then Shikamaru had said she was hurt, and that Orochimaru had set a trap for her. That made him angry, and worried about her. _Then_ he had said Sasuke was the one who actually injured her. And he didn't know how to feel about that. He had been avoiding thinking about it.

He had never considered Sasuke the "enemy" before. He was simply … Sasuke. His stubborn, stupid, lost, jerk of a rival. The brother he never had. Jiraiya had once told him that iron sharpens iron, and he believed that described the two of them. Yes, he knew Sasuke was with Orochimaru, and had been for over three years now, but he had never considered him as being one of Orochimaru's men. Even when he had threatened to kill him, and Sai, Sakura, and Captain Yamato, well, that had all been personal. They had been trying to bring him back. But kidnapping one of the Leaf's nin and trying to capture the Enjo-sha were actions against the village. And he did it because Orochimaru told him to. So far, Lady Tsunade had been kind enough not to list Sasuke as a missing nin in the bingo book, but he was crossing that line. He was really acting like a _criminal._ What if he had actually killed Kagome? Or Genma? What else has he been doing while he's been with Orochimaru? Has he been kidnapping people from other villages for Orochimaru to experiment on? For all he knew, this might not be the first time Sasuke had acted against Konoha, either. A shudder went down his spine. _What the hell has happened to you, Sasuke? It's one thing to want to avenge your clan, but don't you even know right from wrong any more?_

"That's not all."

_What more could there be?_

"He slit Kagome's shirt open. Deliberately. And after he stabbed her, he kissed her."

When Naruto stayed silent, he turned to look at him. "There's no doubt that Orochimaru sent him to capture her. When he first started fighting her, he was testing her. That could have been on Orochimaru's orders, too. But like I said, he was deliberately saying and doing things so we would tell _you._ He wanted to make you angry, and that's his own agenda. And when he kissed her, well, it seemed different."

There was another long silence, and Naruto kept staring straight ahead of him. Then, "So, you're saying he did those things to make me think he wants her, and now he really does want her."

"Maybe. I honestly don't know what he's thinking, but I think he is intrigued by her, and I don't think he has allowed himself to be intrigued by anyone or anything since he left Konoha. His whole world narrowed down to killing Itachi. That's why he cut all ties with you and Sakura, and even Kakashi. He doesn't want thoughts or feelings for anyone else to get in his way. So, for him to suddenly show interest in Kagome, I don't know what that means, but it doesn't seem like a good thing. I just know he's really different now. I mean, even a year or two ago, I don't think he would have done anything like that, even if he _did_ want to get under your skin."

"Yeah."

Seeing Kagome step back into the meadow and head their way, he stood up. Watching her tilt her head up slightly to let the sun hit her face fully, he felt a tightening in his chest. She had come here for him. She was his fiancé. _His._ And he had never had anyone like her in his life before. He could see a future with her in it. And it wasn't just because she was beautiful. She made him feel good about himself. He had known Sasuke for most of his life. He had chased after him for over three years now to bring him back, but he had been chasing after him even before that. He measured himself against him. Iron versus iron. He made him feel like crap. He had forgiven Sasuke for a lot of things. Maybe more than he should. He'd had some vague idea that when Sasuke came back, everything would go back to the way it was before he left. But that wasn't going to happen. They were all older now, and it was time to move forward with their lives. He wanted to save him, but he was going to have to pay for the choices he had made and for what he had done. And he wouldn't be able to forgive him if he took her away or hurt her again.

Swiftly walking over to her, he gathered her in a tight embrace, tucking her head under his chin. Not sure what had upset him, Kagome dropped the basket she was carrying and wrapped her arms around him. "What is it? What can I do?"

Moving his hands to her shoulders and looking down at the concern in her eyes, he said, "You can let Shikamaru take you back to your apartment. Take a nap."

"What are you going to do?"

"I've got a waterfall to cut." He started to walk away, but turned back. "Be sure to get pears the next time we go on a picnic, too." And with a wink, he was gone.

_Get ready, Sasuke! I'm coming for you!_

…

"Tenzo!"

"Got it!" He sent the Foo Dogs pillars after the clone that was encased in the nine tails chakra cloak. Breathing hard, he turned to Kakashi who had retrieved the real Naruto from the bridge and laid him down nearby, and asked, "What's going on? That's the third one tonight."

Looking at the unconscious blond who was already stirring, Kakashi said, "I guess Shikamaru finally talked to him about Sasuke."

"Well, it's too bad Kagome can't help right now. I just hope when she gets here she can convince him to stop and get some sleep."

The older nin silently agreed with him.

…

Standing in the thick fog with his red eyes focused on the woman standing in front of the bottom of the waterfall, he let the body fall to the ground. _One more._ But he didn't have to seek the other man out, as a man wearing a purple monk's robe appeared in front of him.

"Who are you? This area is off limits right now," Miroku told the stranger. Then he spotted Shippou lying on the ground.

"Too late. And no place is off limits to me," he told the unfamiliar man, as he, too, fell to the ground. "As to who I am, I'm just … an admirer." He dropped a yellow daffodil on the ground in front of the monk.

...

End Chapter 7

A/N Hmmm. I've been wanting to focus on Naruto more. Reading back through this, though, I'm not sure I got the mix of humor and serious story progression right. I'm glad Jiraiya is back in Konoha. ^_^ I hope I am keeping the characters reasonably in-character, considering I am departing from canon events.

Thanks so, so much to everyone who is reading this story! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support and encouragement. Your reviews are more helpful than you can imagine. ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

_Last time:_

Standing in the thick fog with his red eyes focused on the woman standing in front of the bottom of the waterfall, he let the body fall to the ground. _One more._ But he didn't have to seek the other man out, as a man wearing a purple monk's robe appeared in front of him.

"Who are you? This area is off limits right now," Miroku told the stranger. Then he spotted Shippou lying on the ground.

"Too late. And no place is off limits to me," he told the unfamiliar man, as he, too, fell to the ground. "As to who I am, I'm just … an admirer." He dropped a yellow daffodil on the ground in front of the monk.

Unwanted Chapter 8

In the blink of an eye, he was standing behind the woman. Reaching around her, he grabbed her hands, and crossing her arms over her breasts, he pulled her back against him. "I'm glad to see you survived. You have a bad habit of lying—you're not immune to snake venom."

"If you have spilled blood in my sanctuary, I promise you will regret it, Uchiha Sasuke."

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Most women would scream or call for help when someone grabs them when they're naked and helpless."

"Do you make a habit of grabbing naked women?"

"Ah, so you don't consider yourself helpless, and yet … I don't think you can get away from me," he tightened his arms around her. "I haven't spilled any blood. Yet. Your comrades and the two ANBU nearby are merely unconscious for the time being."

"Genjutsu?"

He smiled outright at her tactics. "You think if you keep me talking, you will be able to get away. But talking is all I want. For now." The truth was, he hadn't intended to make his presence known to her at all. His snakes had confirmed that she hadn't succumbed to the poison. When they told him she was planning to do a ritual purification here tonight, he had been unable to resist the temptation to witness it. He was curious. Still, he hadn't planned to approach her.

"You want to talk?" It was all she could do not to squirm uncomfortably. She certainly didn't want to have a conversation with him looming over her like this. At least her breasts were somewhat covered with their arms. He just _had _to grab her when she was making her offering to the waterfall instead of when she was down in the water, where she would at least be partially covered. She turned her head to look at him. "Your timing leaves much to be admired. I'm afraid I'm not dressed for entertaining guests. What did you want to talk about? If you're looking for Naruto, he's training at a different location."

He frowned at that. "I'm not here to talk to Naruto. He and I have said all we have to say to each other."

"You may say you don't want to talk to him, but you seem to be going out of your way to get his attention. You were trying to use me to provoke him when we fought, and now you're here in Konoha. Or are you just missing your home? You've been gone for a long time, but it's still here. All of the people who love and care about you are still here."

"All of the people I cared about are dead. My brother killed them."

"That's not true. Your friends are still here."

"Friends are just baggage. I don't need them."

Kagome bent over suddenly, then threw herself backwards, using the muscles in her legs to push forcefully from the watery ledge she was standing on. They both went tumbling back into the deeper water of the basin, but he didn't loosen his grip.

When they surfaced and he found a place where he could stand up waist-deep in the water, she continued to twist and kick her legs for a few minutes before stilling. "Nice try. Please don't stop wiggling around on my account-it's quite enjoyable. But don't think I am so foolish that I would let go of either of your hands and allow you to summon a weapon to use against me. I was convinced you were resigned to this position for the duration of our conversation, but if you're uncomfortable, perhaps I should adjust my grip." He lifted her right hand from her left shoulder and moved it down so it was across her waist, exposing her right breast, which was just above the water. For the first time in her life, she wished she was a little shorter. "Is that more comfortable?"

Refusing to be baited, she told him, "If you aren't here for Naruto, then I have to assume you're planning to try to take me to Orochimaru. And I'm not going to go peacefully." The muscle in his jaw tightened and she felt his body tense.

"No," he said coldly and tightened his grip on her again. "I won't let him get his hands on you. He was planning to experiment on you to see if he could extract the reiki from your body, but after Kabuto told him what we had learned about you and your abilities – how easily you went through that barrier and how quickly you healed Genma and got _him _through it, and even got Shikamaru's _shadow _through it, he was so taken with the possibilities of your power that now he wants to bond you to him by marrying you himself since you aren't already married to Naruto. But if you should marry before he is able to capture you, he would still take you as his lover so he can sire children and potentially have even more reiki to work with. He believes he can bend you to his will with genjutsu and medication. He thinks you may be able to restore his body and lengthen his life, and then he won't need me or anyone else."

Her brow furrowed as she contemplated him. "And you want him to need you?"

He laughed bitterly. "No. But I would rather kill him as weak as he is now without you revitalizing him."

"I thought you were willing to give up your body to achieve your goal."

"There is nothing more Orochimaru can give me in terms of strength or power. I don't need him."

"If you are truly cutting ties with Orochimaru now, you can come home and I can remove that curse seal."

He was quiet for a moment, and he rested his chin on her head. He had never considered the possibility of actually getting rid of the curse seal altogether. It had caused him excruciating pain, and Kakashi had tried to suppress it, but he could easily access that power now and the pain didn't bother him. Was he willing to let it go? "I'll keep your offer in mind."

"Are you planning to kill him before you fight your brother?"

"Yes."

She thought about that for a minute. "Are you planning to fight Naruto before you fight your brother?"

"Naruto is the one who insists on pursuing me and fighting. I told him years ago I was cutting all ties, but he refuses to let me go. So, yes, I am willing to kill him, too, before I find Itachi."

"You are … his best friend. He cares about you. The others here do, too."

"None of the others ever knew me."

"Even if that's true, they still care, and you know _he_ knows you. You say you are willing to kill him, yet you didn't come here looking for him. But you are deliberately provoking him right now for some purpose."

"Right now?" Leaning forward, he slowly looked down her body and back up, smirking a bit when her cheeks turned red. "Why hasn't he married you yet?"

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out before answering quietly, "You know what I am. The Third Hokage made a contract with my village. Naruto didn't know anything about it. Apparently, no one else in your village knew, either. Sesshoumaru, my Tsukikage, has given him three months to decide whether or not to honor the contract."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed speculatively. _I should have known he wasn't smart enough to let the village arrange a beneficial marriage for him._ "He's an idiot. And you're a tool, like all shinobi are, simply serving some purpose and sacrificing yourself for your village. I suppose as the Enjo-sha you brought a lot of money into your village's coffers, or perhaps you served as the bargaining chip for some kind of alliance. What happens if he decides not to marry you?"

Straightening her shoulders and lifting her chin, she told him, "I hope it doesn't come to that, but naturally, a penalty would have to be paid. However, Sesshoumaru has made an agreement so Naruto's life will not be forfeit, because that wouldn't be fair, seeing as how he didn't agree to the original contract in the first place. But I am proud to be able to help my village, and I will serve in whatever capacity they need me. I pledged as much when I became a shinobi, but whether as a shinobi, the Enjo-sha, or simply Higurashi Kagome, I will gladly do all that I can—it is my duty, but also a privilege, and my honor demands I do it to the best of my abilities. My actions reflect on my land, my Tsukikage, and my comrades, as well as my family name. I will do the same for Konoha if it becomes my home. You can think of me as a tool, a weapon, or a bargaining chip, if you want, but it is an honor for me to take on that role, and I find strength in that."

"A lot of shinobi talk about honor and duty, but most don't really understand it. When Itachi killed our clan and left me alive, he told me I wasn't worth killing because I was weak. He didn't just dishonor our name, he ripped away every shred of _my_ honor. The only way I can ever reclaim that is to prove him wrong by killing _him._ And yet, everyone here seemed to think I should just shake it off and forget getting 'revenge.' They wanted me to pretend I was like everyone else and live the life of a 'normal shinobi.' But it was never about 'revenge'—it's my duty to _avenge_ my clan, and I can't be a 'normal shinobi' if I have no honor."

Kagome took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She nodded slowly. After her mother died, her father had told her she was worthless and a burden, so he sent her out to make her own way or die. She had become determined to prove her worth and had tried to become a great shinobi—someone he would be proud of. But, it wasn't enough, and he died before she became the Enjo-sha. She often wondered if he would have been proud of her then. But she had learned not to place all of her sense of self-worth in her father's opinion. She let the respect of her comrades and Sesshoumaru, and her own sense of accomplishment fill that empty space her father had created in her.

"To place such a burden on a child is more of your brother's dishonor. I won't tell you I understand how you feel because I haven't experienced a tragedy on the scale of losing an entire clan, but I do understand why you see it as your duty to avenge them. That sense of duty is proof that you do have honor. Striving to become strong—to be the best you can possibly be is also proof of that. And yes, I do understand your desire and need to prove your brother wrong by showing him you are stronger than he is, and to do so, you may have to kill him. However, you did already have honor. You had the respect of your comrades, and the gratitude of your village for your service. Every day that you fulfilled your duty to them, you added to your honor. And I think they would have supported you and helped you to fulfill your duty to avenge your clan, when they felt you were ready to do so. You didn't have to leave, and you can still return."

"Your view of things is very interesting, Higurashi Kagome. Not necessarily _right,_ but I suspect that's more because you are a stranger to this land and you don't know Konoha, so interesting nonetheless. At least you aren't crying false tears of sympathy and pity or trying to claim you understand how I must feel. You are completely wasted on a fool like Naruto."

"Actually, I feel very fortunate that he is my intended. Naruto is very admirable. He's completely dedicated to getting stronger and improving himself. And as strong as he is already, he isn't arrogant. He's very kind and always cheerful. And he's extremely loyal to his friends and to the village. He's also really rather charming," she smiled.

"Dedicated, cheerful, and loyal. Are you talking about Naruto or Kiba's ninken, Akamaru?"

"That's your best friend you're talking about." She tilted her head as she looked at him. "Are you envious of the way he gets along with so many people so easily?"

"There's only one thing I might be envious of him for, and that's this," he moved her hand around to cover the small red circle with a swirl in it that decorated the side of her right hip. "This mark is why _you_ are the Enjo-sha, isn't it?" he asked quietly, leaning down so his mouth was right next to her ear.

"Yes," she admitted, unnerved by the sudden change in his demeanor. He had gone from a fairly-polite and curious would-be kidnapper to a slightly seductive and suggestive captor in one short sentence. She decided to expand the topic so it didn't seem so … intimate. "Originally, my older sister was the Enjo-sha. I didn't even know I had any priestess abilities until I was 12, and the Enjo-sha for the Leaf Village's jinchuriki had to be the most powerful priestess in our land at the time."

She was a little relieved when he moved her hand back around to the front of her waist, but his breath in her ear made her shiver when he spoke. "So, you're the most powerful priestess right now."

"That's what they tell me."

He smiled at the way she said that. "I'm surprised they didn't test you as a child when they saw the mark."

"I guess no one saw it, except my mother, and she was a foreigner. She didn't know it might be significant, and she died when I was five."

"_You_ didn't know its significance?"

"When I was older, since my sister was the Enjo-sha, I did learn that the previous brides for jinchuriki had clan marks because it was mentioned that she didn't, but I didn't spend much time with her so I didn't know any details. I certainly didn't know my odd birthmark was a clan symbol. There is no Uzumaki clan in my land. You know, since we're having such a nice, civilized talk, why don't I just slip on my robe and make us some tea?"

His eyes lit with amusement and his lips twitched. She really was very unusual and entertaining. "I think we both know that this conversation is almost over. I'm sorry I can't stay to greet the ANBU and your friends. That wasn't the plan."

"What was the plan?"

"I just came here to … see you."

"Well, you succeeded," she said wryly.

His lips twitched again. He was tempted to take her with him, but he would have to take care of Orochimaru first.

"Do you want me to tell Naruto anything for you?"

"Yes." He pressed himself more tightly against her back and took advantage of the way she had her head turned to see him to capture her lips in a demanding kiss. There was nothing soft or gentle in it, and unlike the other time he had kissed her, he didn't seem to be searching for something. This time, his lips were firm and insistent, like he was _telling_ her something, but her only thought was that she was in a very precarious position and she needed to get away. Jerking her head away to break the kiss, she felt his lips trail down her neck.

"I won't tell him that. You're just trying to rile him up."

"Am I? But you're not sure it _would_ rile him up, are you? The question is are you underestimating his rivalry with me or his feelings for you? He's an idiot, but I can't believe he's that much of an idiot. But if you refuse to tell him, I'll have to make sure he gets the message." And he ducked his head and sank his teeth into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He had learned many things from Orochimaru, and although he had never thought this would be useful, he did now. He knew Orochimaru used his senjutsu chakra and an enzyme from Jugo's blood to bestow his curse marks on others. He didn't want to seal that kind of power in her. He simply wanted to seal some of his chakra in her so he could find her no matter where she was. He had read something in one of the books in the Naka Shrine about his clan's history describing how his ancestors had done something like this as a safety measure for their spouses. It also left a visible mark showing what clan they belonged to. It seemed appropriate, and thanks to Orochimaru's chakra in _his_ curse seal, he could elongate his teeth into snakelike fangs like the sannin himself. Raising his head, he told her, "You have his mark, and now you'll have mine."

Turning her head to stare at him in shock, she winced at the pain that began to flow through her from the site of the wound he had inflicted. "What have you done?!"

Staring back at her, Sasuke was a little in shock himself. Who was she that she kept making him do things he hadn't planned to do? Last time, he hadn't planned to stab her and poison her. Or kiss her. And now, he hadn't planned to approach her at all, let alone put a mark on her. And she kept making him think about things he had never considered before. When Orochimaru first told him Naruto was getting married, he didn't believe it. As irritating as it was, he had to admit that Naruto was as single-minded as _he_ was. Although he was going about it in a different manner, he was completely focused on the goal he had set for himself, which was to bring _him_ back to the village. Now, suddenly, it seemed like Naruto was looking beyond that goal and actually allowing himself to have a life aside from training and striving for more strength and power. So, he had to see the woman the idiot was going to marry. And she was … interesting. Her sense of duty and honor were admirable, and her wit and her spirit held an allure that was quite charming. And she was beautiful. Maybe Naruto _wasn't _such an idiot.

Maybe there was something to be said for making plans for the future. On the one hand, it spoke of the confidence Naruto must have that he was going to come out of their fight alive. When it came to facing Itachi, he had always believed he would kill him and finally avenge his family and his own, personal honor. Or had he? Was he not making any plans for the future because deep down he thought Itachi would win? He had already given up everything. His village. His teammates. Their trust and respect. Even his own sense of who he was or who he could be. He had sacrificed them without blinking an eye. Was Naruto right? A shinobi's life was short and hard. Maybe it made sense to live that life to the fullest, surrounded by people who care about you. Otherwise, it might be kind of pathetic to simply spend one's whole life training and pursuing strength only to die with nothing and no one to mourn you. What was the point? He had never thought of it that way before, but now … Maybe he should be making plans for life after itachi's death. Maybe he could finally live again, because Itachi may have left his body alive, but he had killed him just as surely as he had killed the rest of their clan that day. He had tainted his heart and filled it with hatred and killed all chances that he might have a life and a future, but maybe … maybe it wasn't too late.

And just as soon as he started having these thoughts, he comes here and finds out that Naruto really _is_ an idiot because he might not marry this girl after all. He had heard the uncertainty in her voice when she told him Naruto had three months to decide. She really didn't know if he would honor the contract or not. He had known no one here truly believed in duty and honor-they were empty words they spouted to get someone else to do their dirty work. Naruto didn't deserve her. Maybe he would take that decision out of Naruto's hands. For the first time ever, he wondered if his father had arranged marriages for him and Itachi. As head of the clan, it would have made sense for him to have done so. To keep the bloodline pure to be sure to continue to pass on the sharingan, his father would have chosen Uchiha brides, so they would have died at his brother's hands like everyone else. Would his wife have been anything like this woman in his arms?

She made a movement with her hand to cover the bite, and still holding on to her hand, he allowed her to, watching as her eyes closed and she drew a deep breath. Then her knees seemed to give out and he let go of her hands to catch her and hold her up. He turned her so she was facing him and felt just a moment of doubt and regret as he looked into her now open, pain-filled eyes. He had thought the reason only one out of ten people survived Orochimaru's curse marks was due to the unstable enzyme in Jugo's blood, but perhaps it was simply sealing foreign chakra inside someone else. Or perhaps that damn enzyme had tainted _his_ chakra. He was surprised when she raised a glowing hand and touched his chest, encasing him in a pink sphere. In a low, rough voice, she simply said, "Go," and the sphere shot into the air and went speeding through the night, causing a cacophony of sounds from the birds and animals in the trees whose leaves it rustled as it flew by, coming to a stop only when it slammed into a cliff a considerable distance away from Konoha.

Kagome fell into the water and struggled to stand. The pain was radiating throughout her body now and it felt like fire burning under her skin as it grew steadily in intensity. She couldn't see the bite mark itself, but she could see red flames decorating her shoulder and spreading down her arm and the right side of her chest. She stumbled and fell in the water again. Then she felt herself being lifted and carried over to the grass. "Shippou."

She saw two ANBU members suddenly appear and heard Miroku tell them, "He's gone. There's no trace of his aura here." Then he was standing next to Shippou and looking at her in concern. "Kagome-sama, what happened?" He had picked up her robe, but seeing the strange marks spreading over her skin, he just wrapped it loosely around her instead of putting her arms in the sleeves and tying it.

"He _bit_ me." And then she gave in to the pain and passed out.

…

"_Ho! Did you feel that?"_

The sound of the nine-tailed beast's voice from within broke his concentration, and Naruto stopped and stood still for a minute. The damn thing had been trying to take advantage of his anger all evening to wreck his training, but he hadn't talked to him for a while. "What?"

"_That large blast of reiki. Unless I'm mistaken, your little priestess just blew someone right through the barrier and out of Konoha."_

"Kagome?" Dispelling his shadow clones, he leaped down beside Kakashi. "Kagome's in trouble!"

"Lead the way," the copy nin told him as he nodded to Yamato, who quickly got to his feet.

They arrived at the waterfall just after the Interception Division, who quickly and quietly conversed with the two ANBU already there before disappearing in five different directions.

Running up to Shippou, who had Kagome in his arms, Naruto yelled, "What happened?!"

"Kagome-sama entered the water and Shippou fogged up the area around it. Then I felt an unfamiliar aura on the other side of the basin, and when I confronted the man, he must have used some kind of genjutsu to render me unconscious," Miroku told him. "It was so quick, I didn't realize it was happening. When I came to, Shippou was carrying her out of the water. She seemed to be in a lot of pain and now she has these strange marks spreading all over her body. She said he bit her."

"Orochimaru!"

Kakashi moved the robe so he could see her shoulder. "It does look similar to the curse mark he gave Sasuke, but it's not the same. The markings are red, and I don't see a seal like the one on the back of Sasuke's neck."

"Does Orochimaru have black hair and red eyes?" Miroku asked.

"_Red_ eyes?" Kakashi asked in surprise. "Was he wearing a black cloak with clouds on it?"

"No. White haori, dark pants with some kind of concealing cloth or apron, and a large purple rope."

"Fuck! No way! That's Sasuke!" Naruto clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

"There is a seal forming directly over the bite wound," Shippou pointed out. "It's getting darker as the markings spread. Miroku, I hate to say it, but the placement of that bite …"

Inside Naruto's head, the nine-tailed beast howled with laughter, then his low, raspy voice gleefully announced, _"That's no curse seal. I haven't seen that done for centuries, but someone else put a claim on your bride."_ He laughed again.

Closing his eyes and entering his subconscious to face the bijuu, Naruto scowled at him. "_What are you talking about?!"_

"_Long ago, when some of the clans chased after greater power, a few shinobi entered into relationships with youkai and hanyou. How do you think all of the kekkai genkai originated? Some of them even adopted some youkai traditions. If the person who bit her were a demon, that would be a mating mark."_

"_How do we get rid of it?"_

"_Since the person who bit her is human and not youkai, he injected his chakra instead of youki. I have no idea what that will do. A normal mating mark will fade in time, if the match is not consummated. Heh heh! But even a priestess can't remove it. They aren't allowed to interfere in such matters," he smiled maliciously._

Gnashing his teeth together, Naruto glared at him ferociously. _"There has to be something we can do."_

"_If you let me take over, we can go chase down that bastard right now. He can't be far."_

_He's right. He can't be that far if it just happened. I could get him! We could finish this once and for all. _

Red seeped into his eyes. It was tempting—_**really**_ tempting. Really, _**REALLY **_tempting, because that bastard had gone way too far now. He had hurt Kagome again. But …

_Kagome._

He had to take care of her before he killed Sasuke. His eyes reverted to their normal blue. _"How can I help her?"_

The nine tails glared at him, but studied him carefully for a minute. He was surprised when he actually answered him. _"She was born with your mark. You can probably stop the spread of those markings with __**your **__chakra."_

"_You mean __**I**__ should bite her?"_

The kyuubi laughed again. _"With those dull, human teeth? Just slice through your mark and infuse some chakra."_

"_Okay. Thanks."_

"_Don't thank me. Just remember that you need me. My power is far greater than anything you can accomplish on your own no matter how hard you train, and I'll be here when you are ready to take your revenge. I can help you make sure that bastard never hurts anyone you care about again. Remember that."_

When he opened his eyes, he heard Kakashi talking to Miroku and Shippou. "If it isn't a curse seal, then I don't know how to suppress it, and I don't know how long it will remain actively spread over her body like this. I do know it is probably extremely painful. So, all we can do is take her to the hospital and try to make her comfortable."

Miroku nodded. "I think we may have to travel to the Fire Temple when she is able."

"Wait. Put her down." Naruto hadn't actually seen his clan mark on her, but he had caught a glimpse of something on her hip when Kakashi had moved the robe to look at her shoulder.

Shippou lay her down carefully, and Naruto kneeled down and turned her on her side. Even unconscious, her body was tense with pain. Her fists were clenched and her breathing was ragged. The red, flame-like markings seemed to cover most of her body now, but when he moved the robe aside to uncover her hip, he saw that there weren't any around the circle with a red swirl in it. They came down almost to her waist on her right side, and he could see some across her stomach. They also ran all the way down her legs, but her right hip only had his clan symbol on it. When he took out a kunai, Shippou grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"The nine tails said my chakra might be able to help her." He made a cut across the center of the circle and placed his hand over it and let his chakra flow through it. After a few minutes, the markings started to recede. Removing his hand, Naruto was surprised there was no sign of the cut he had made. He just watched for a couple more minutes to make sure the markings were really fading away, and after adjusting the robe to make sure she was covered, he picked her up. He could feel the tension in her body ease, and her breathing returned to normal.

Kakashi reached over and moved the robe off of her shoulder again, and it fell around her waist. _The markings are almost gone from the front of her torso as well, and a seal __**has**__ formed where Sasuke bit her._ Assured that Naruto's chakra had indeed suppressed whatever Sasuke had done, he couldn't help the last thought that struck him: _Looks like Konohomaru didn't get everything completely right, either._

"Hey!" Naruto glared at him and quickly pulled up the robe to cover her breasts again, while Yamato's face turned red and he quickly spun around so his back was to them. It had been slightly embarrassing just watching Naruto sit there with his hand on her hip, because with the robe off of it, significant portions of her were exposed—like her entire backside. Thankfully, Naruto had kneeled down on the other side of her. But at least that exposure had been for a legitimate reason. He was beginning to really wonder about the senior jounin. He hadn't seemed like a pervert when he was in the ANBU, and he had never heard anyone say anything about Kakashi being a pervert since then—other than his taste in reading material, but the more he was around him, the more he was beginning to think he was one of the biggest perverts in Konoha.

"I was just checking to see what the final seal looks like," the copy nin said blandly.

Naruto gritted his teeth. It was a mother-fucking uchiwa fan. Right there on the side of her neck! Sasuke was a dead man. At least the top was just a pale pink and not a bright red. "I'm taking her to the hospital now."

"Good idea. I suppose we need to inform Lady Tsunade of this latest incident, even though the ANBU will be making a report," Kakashi said.

Yamato nodded. "The ANBU are already searching to determine how he managed to get in undetected. The barrier team only detected something or someone leaving."

Naruto stopped and turned to face him. "The nine tails said she blasted him out of Konoha with her reiki. That's what caught his attention."

"Yes, I felt it, too," Miroku agreed, and Shippou nodded. "It broke the genjutsu."

"So, a human practically gave her a demon mating mark. With those eyes, I guess I'm not all that surprised," the kitsune commented. "Perhaps he should have been born a demon."

"You might really think so if you met his older brother," Kakashi told them. "The sharingan gives the Uchihas unparalled mastery with genjutsu and many other advantages and forms of attack in battle, and Itachi's sharingan is far more advanced than Sasuke's."

"Great. Nice to know there's another would-be demon running around somewhere. Your village seems to have a little problem with your missing nin hanging around and causing trouble. Perhaps Konoha needs some hunter nin," Shippou suggested. Then he followed Naruto across the field.

…

Kagome ached all over. _Is someone carrying me?_ She groaned softly and her eyelashes fluttered before her eyes opened and she saw Naruto's angry expression. "Shikamaru was supposed to kill that elephant."

Naruto looked down at her. Obviously, she was completely out of it.

Moving in his arms, she said, "Let me down."

"You don't need down. I'm taking you to the hospital."

"I don't need to go to the hospital. I need to see what that bite did. I can't believe he did that after I offered to remove _his_ curse seal."

He stopped walking. "You offered to remove his curse seal?"

"Yes, and I think he was considering it. Come on, let me down. I think I'm okay now."

"Oh, so you're _fine?"_

She smiled at him. "Actually, yes, I think I am." _Aside from feeling like I was trampled by an elephant again._

"Are you kidding me? You seriously think I'm going to believe that? You passed out because you were in pain and you had markings all over your body from that bastard _biting_ you like some damn vampire or something. And now you've got his fucking clan symbol on your neck."

She touched her neck with her hand and looked at him in shock. "His clan symbol? That's not how it should work. Let me down. Maybe I can remove it myself." Her brow furrowed as she thought. _His clan symbol? _ She pressed on the spot where he bit her and winced. _That's right where …_

"It's not a curse seal, Kagome," Shippou told her. "Don't try to remove it. It could be dangerous. If it was made with youki and you tried to remove it, it could be fatal. Since it was made with chakra, who knows?"

"If it was made with youki … he bit me where a demon would leave a mating mark." She blinked. "That's … an unfortunate mistake."

Naruto laughed humorlessly. "You think he did it by mistake? Not Sasuke." He never did anything without a reason. He was too cold and calculating. He had made enough excuses for him over the years. He wasn't about to write this off as a 'mistake.' He tightened his grip on her. He should have been there. It was his fault and his knew it. But who would have ever believed Sasuke would come into Konoha? He had underestimated the lengths he would go to in his quest for vengeance, and now he had underestimated the lengths he would go to for … what? Did Sasuke do this to get at him? Or did he do it to _get her?_ The nine tails said he had placed a claim on her. Well, he wasn't getting her.

"You _did _manage to get rid of him after he bit you, didn't you, Kagome-sama?" the monk asked her. "I mean, I don't know how long we were out, but it seems like a significant amount of time passed after I confronted him before your reiki broke the genjutsu's hold. He didn't have a chance to …"

Her eyes widened. "Yes! I mean, no! Yes, I was able to throw him out after he bit me, and no, he didn't … do anything like that."

"What _did_ he do?" Shippou asked.

"He wanted to talk."

"While you were naked?"

They all looked at her, but she didn't have an answer for that.

"What did he want to talk about?" Miroku asked.

"I'm not sure he had a particular thing in mind. He talked about a lot of things. Honor and duty and why he has to kill his brother. His home here and his friends— _you_, and your persistence, in particular," she indicated Naruto. "He told me what Orochimaru had planned for me, but then he said he wouldn't try to take me to him or let him get me. He says there's nothing more Orochimaru can do for him and he plans to kill him. That's when I offered to remove the curse mark."

"He said he wouldn't let Orochimaru get you? Like he's going to protect you from him? Kagome-sama, it sounds like he _did_ know what he was doing when he bit you. Or at least, he had an idea what a mark like that is for."

_I knew it._ His grip on her tightened again and his expression turned fierce. _Who does that bastard think he is? She's my fiance'-**I** will protect her!_

She looked startled, then doubtful. "Do you really think so? He said it was a message for Naruto—that I had your mark and now I would have his. I think he was deliberately trying to rile you up, but I thought he was talking about some kind of curse seal like the one he has." Looking at Naruto's face again, she sighed. "I'm guessing this wouldn't be a good time to ask you to put me down."

He started walking again at a much quicker pace.

"Can we go to the apartment so I can get some clothes?" She twisted a bit in his arms and managed to get one of her arms through a sleeve so the robe would stay up around her better.

He didn't even glance down at her.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly and settled against him. _I'm definitely being more of a hindrance than a helpmate. I'm not helping the situation with his friend if his friend is using me to provoke him. And he had to stop his training for me again. The timing for me being here and this marriage really is all wrong for him._ She sighed and closed her eyes as she turned toward him and leaned her head against his shoulder and neck. She caressed his other shoulder gently, running her fingers lightly across his collarbone every now and then.

His stride slowed a bit and he peered down at her. Her face was hidden by her hair, but he could feel her warm breath on his skin. She had asked to get some clothes and he didn't even have a shirt or a jacket to give her, having left those at the training ground. The white robe that was wrapped around her was thin and almost see-through. Her long, dark hair was still wet, and there were some flower petals in it. _ I should have been there. Actually, I should have taken care of Sasuke a long time ago. She shouldn't be caught in the middle of this. She absolutely shouldn't have been hurt __**twice**__. Damn it, Sasuke! What kind of game are you playing? Showing up in Konoha and messing with Kagome has nothing to do with avenging your family. You were willing to kill me the last time we met, but you've never sought me out. Is that what you're doing now? Trying to draw me out? Or are you really trying to take her away? Away __**from me**__ or away __**for you**__? No matter which one, I can't let you do that. I __**won't**__ let you do that. _

Looking down at her again, he felt that same tightening in his chest he had felt earlier that day when he saw her walking toward him after Shikamaru had told him the other things Sasuke had done. She deserved better than this. She was … _special_ to him. No one had ever treated him the way she did. She was always nice, and cheerful, and she was always encouraging him. She had been taking care of him in all kinds of ways since she had come here. He needed to really start taking care of _her_.

"We'll go to your apartment first, so you can get some clothes."

"I'm sorry you had to stop your training again because of me. Thank you," she said, pressing her lips to his shoulder gently. He closed his eyes briefly, then disappeared from view, leaving a few leaves floating in the air.

Turning to face Miroku, Shippou said, "I suppose we should go see the Hokage, to tell her what we know of tonight's events."

"Yes. She'll be safe with him," Miroku agreed. "Safer than she was with us. At least he knows the enemy." He took the yellow daffodil Sasuke had dropped next to him out of a pocket and frowned. "I know she promised Naruto to let him fight his own battles, and she specifically told him she wouldn't interfere in his plans to bring his friend back to the village, but I think Uchiha Sasuke just made her a part of _his_ plans. "

"Well, let's hope that Naruto does, too."

…

Naruto was pacing back and forth in the sitting area of Kagome's apartment. What was taking her so long? He had told her she might as well just put on something to sleep in, so she could just get in a bed and go to sleep when they got to the hospital. He could see she wanted to argue with him about it, but she didn't. So, why did he feel bad about that?

_Does she really think I'm mad because I had to stop training because she was in danger? Or does she think I'm mad __**at her**__ because Sasuke thinks he's a damned snake now like Orochimaru and he sank his fangs into her neck? None of this crap was her fault._

He would tell her that, too, as soon as she gets out here. Of course, the way things were going, he should probably check to make sure there wasn't a member of the damned Akatsuki waiting in her closet to grab her.

"Kagome?"

He opened the door to her room and looked around. Well, at least she had done what he told her. Kind of. She had put on a pair of pink pajama shorts with a black, jersey-style top with three large buttons in the front. But she was curled up on the bed, fast asleep. He stared at her for a minute, then sighed and closed the door. He was probably going to have to sling her over his shoulder again in the morning to take her to see the old lady. Climbing into the bed, he lay down behind her and pulled the blanket over both of them.

Moving her hair behind her shoulder so he could see her face, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her for a little while. She was a very sound sleeper. He probably could have carried her to the hospital and put her in a bed there and she wouldn't have known it until she woke up tomorrow. Then she would have been pissed. He smiled at the thought. She was right, though, even though he would never tell _her_ that. Since she wasn't in pain now, there really wasn't anything they could do for her there except tell her to sleep, and she was sleeping now. And he didn't think they would let him crawl into bed with her there. Kakashi had been the one to try to help Sasuke with his curse seal, and he had said there wasn't anything he could do about _this_ mark. He looked at her neck and noticed she had covered the seal with a bandage. He was glad he didn't have to see that fucking fan on her.

Leaning down, he rubbed his cheek against hers. "Good night, Kagome." Then he lay down and slid his arm under her neck and wrapped it around her with his hand resting on her arm and wrapped his other arm around her waist. He was quite comfortable spooned up against her, but his last thought before falling asleep was that if they got married, he wanted a bigger bed.

…

He was still very comfortably spooned against her when he woke up—maybe a little _too_ comfortably. He had expected the hard, insistent length in his pants to make itself known, and he willed himself not to press against her like the horny male he was. But he hadn't expected the full, warm mounds of feminine flesh in his hands. He was definitely going to get clobbered this time because he was definitely groping her breasts. Her _naked_ breasts. And he couldn't make himself let go.

He peered over her to see how that had happened. He knew she was wearing a pajama top when she went to sleep. She was still wearing it, but it was completely open in the front. Was that a button in front of her? Yeah, he was going to get hit. Probably more than once. His hands must have crept under her shirt and all three buttons had come undone. One had even popped off the top completely. _What kind of pervert gropes a woman in his sleep?_ He squeezed her breasts lightly as he thought about that.

"Naruto?"

_Oh yeah. A dead one._

He forced himself not to cringe or make a run for it. It was easier than he thought considering he still hadn't let go. However, when she turned onto her back, he had to let go of one of them and retract his arm from underneath her. As for the other one, he decided to brazen it out and go down with the ship. If he pretended it belonged there, maybe she wouldn't notice?

"You stayed?"

Propping himself up on his elbow, he raised a brow at her. "Of course. It was either that or dump your sleeping body into a hospital bed. Did you think if you were already asleep that I would just leave you here?"

He saw the corners of her mouth curve upwards even though she tried to hide it. She was impossible, and he found himself smiling at her. Then the look in her eyes changed and the brilliant sapphire blue darkened. She raised a hand and traced his bottom lip with the tip of her finger.

"That smile of yours is dangerous." She looked at him for another long moment before raising up to press her lips to his. She kept surprising herself with her boldness, but she supposed she had it set in her mind that the two of them would have been married for almost a month by now if everything had gone as it should have. And she trusted him. He was exactly who he seemed to be and he didn't pretend to be someone else. He had set admirable goals for himself and he worked his butt off to try to accomplish them. He was friendly, kind, and loyal to his friends and his village. And she knew he was trying to take care of her, even if she didn't need to be taken care of. On top of all that, he had those amazing sky blue eyes and that smile that made her heart pound a little faster. The plain truth was she was rather smitten with her fiancé. And he was _hers,_ and she could kiss him and touch him if she wanted to. And she wanted to.

It was intoxicating to know that he wanted her, too, even if it was just a physical attraction. She wasn't used to being the recipient of that kind of attention. Oh, her friends liked to flirt with her and tease her, but that's the way some guys are. And some guys just like to flatter girls to be polite. But, it was definitely different when Naruto flirted with her. And when he kissed her and touched her, she felt _wanted. _ It was a heady feeling for someone who was more familiar with rejection. So, even though she felt somewhat awkward and off-balance about the growing intimacy between them, she also longed for it.

She suspected that her face was red with the way he was touching her right now, but she couldn't be sure because the way he was touching her was causing her to feel heated all over. His hand had tightened on her breast when she first kissed him, but now, as he returned the kiss and slowly turned up the heat by moving along her jawline to a sensitive spot just below her ear, the palm of his hand lightly skimmed over the tightly-budded nipple, sending little shockwaves of pleasure coursing through her.

He continued to tease her with light touches that made her breath catch in her throat. A satisfied smirk curled his lips when he raised his head to look at her. He felt a very masculine sense of pride that he could cause her to make those small sounds just by his touch. He was completely winging it, too, since he had never touched anyone else like this. She was breathtakingly beautiful, lying there with her skin flushed and her lips slightly parted. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes to look at him. Now they were a dark, midnight blue and full of promises of delights he could only imagine. He couldn't resist leaning down to touch his lips to hers again just briefly before turning his attention to what his hand was doing.

He covered her breast with his hand again and slowly dragged the fingers upwards until they surrounded the nipple, then he stroked it a few times with the pad of his thumb, eliciting a soft moan from her. Konohamaru had definitely gotten it wrong. Instead of a pale pink, her nipples were a dusky brown, which stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. He found them quite fascinating and he was prepared to spend hours familiarizing himself with them. But there was one thing his instincts were clamoring for him to do. He caught her eyes as he moved down just a bit and leaned over her, hesitating to make sure she wasn't going to object. She looked a little uncertain, but she just held his gaze without moving. So, he slowly lowered his head until he was directly above her breast, and breaking eye contact with her, he leisurely ran his tongue over the delicate flesh. Her back arched and he heard her swift intake of breath. Feeling more confident, he began to gently suckle and reached over to cover her other breast with his hand. She caressed his shoulder and ran her fingers through his hair, and he felt _cherished._

_This must be what it feels like to be loved._

"Eeeeeeek!"

Kagome jumped at the high-pitched scream and Naruto quickly lifted his head and saw two shadowy figures standing in the doorway.

"What is it?!" someone farther away asked.

"She's got boobies!" one of them cried.

Kagome blinked. _Jakotsu-sama?_

Knocking the first one out of the way, the second one spoke in a much more masculine voice, "You ought to be more concerned that there's someone latched on to them, you idiot!" Poking Naruto's neck with the tip of a huge halberd none too gently, a man with a long braid of dark hair lying over his shoulder looked him straight in the eye and said, "I hope for your sake that you're the husband and not the stalker."

"Blond or black hair?" Shippou called from the other room.

"Blond."

"He's the husband."

"Okay then, I guess you can keep doing what you were doing. You know, you might want to put a lock on this door, Kagome," he said, slinging the halberd back over his shoulder and closing the door as he walked back out.

"Uh, thanks, Bankotsu-sama," Kagome said weakly, trying to hide under the blanket.

"They're BIG boobies!"

She winced and avoided looking at Naruto. She knew he must be staring at her in disbelief. And he should. She had never realized everyone she knew was crazy before now. At least Sesshoumaru was sane. And Sango. And … no, they were probably the only ones.

Naruto was feeling incredibly frustrated, but he also felt like laughing. How did anyone in Konoha ever progress to the point of marriage if a guy couldn't ever spend any private time with his fiancé? Where did all the children come from? And those guys—were they nuts? He covered his mouth with his hand so she wouldn't hear him laugh. He didn't think she'd appreciate it right now. "I take it you know them."

"Stop being so hysterical or I'll slap you. You knew she was a girl when we took her in."

She groaned softly. "Two of my masters." _I hope all seven of them aren't here._

"I'll, uh, wait out there so you can get dressed," he told the girl hiding under the blanket.

"But I could pretend she was just a pretty little boy back then. She wasn't all misshapen with those hideous mounds of flesh."

"They're not so hideous. I'd fuck her. I'll bet Shippou and Miroku would, too. And obviously _he_ would," the man pointed to Naruto as he stepped out of the bedroom.

_He did __**not**__ say that! I am not going out there!_ She looked at the window.

"Well, of _course_ _**he**_ would—look at him! He just _exudes_ wholesomeness with that bright blond hair and those blue eyes. He's probably the President of the 'I Like Boobies' fanclub," Jakotsu said snidely with a dismissive glance in the blond's direction.

"I'd join that club," Miroku grinned as he handed the jinchuriki a wet rag and pointed to where his neck was bleeding. He hadn't even realized he'd been cut. The tip of that halberd must be razor sharp. "Naruto, meet Bankotsu and Jakotsu of the Band of Seven. These guys took Kagome in when she was five and trained her. Hard to believe such a rude and rough bunch raised such a polite, kind soul, isn't it? And these are two of the more polite ones. She's making a run for it, by the way."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"She must have gone out the window," the monk explained.

"Hide and seek—just like when she was little," Bankotsu smiled. "Well, I suppose we shouldn't penalize her like we used to when we find her, since we're visitors in this village. I don't know how quickly their medic nin respond here. Ready Jakotsu?"

"I don't want to find her when she's looking like _that."_ The feminine-looking nin sniffed and flopped down on a chair.

_Medic nin? What the hell kind of hide and seek did she play as a kid?_ "Uh, well, I guess I'll see you later then." And he took off as soon as he was out the door. He was pretty sure he knew where she would have gone.

…

She wasn't there. He was surprised. He was sure she would have gone to his training area. Yamato, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Jiraiya were there, though. He didn't know Pervy Sage was back. Before he could say anything, the lazy nin rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation.

"Where is she? This is the second time Lady Tsunade went to the hospital to check on her only to discover she never checked in." _And she bitched my ears off even though I didn't know a thing about it this time. Kagome is without a doubt the most troublesome woman I know. She has officially passed my mother, Ino, and Lady Tsunade in that regard. The whole situation with her has gone to hell. I can't believe Sasuke was in Konoha. That girl needs watching 24/7._

"I thought she would be here."

"You _lost_ her?!" _Okay, it's worse than I thought._

"Good morning!" a feminine voice called out from the edge of the trees. Kagome was walking toward them carrying a small basket. "I brought some breakfast." Before she could clear the trees, she suddenly ducked and tossed the basket in their direction while summoning a sword in one hand and swinging it downwards. A huge halberd cut the air where her head had been and her sword hit some kind of long, bladed whip made of chains and too many blades to count, stopping it before it wrapped around her legs, but it wrapped around the sword and yanked it from her hand. Tossing several shuriken in the direction the bladed whip came from, she flipped back twice out of the reach of another strike by the halberd.

Shikamaru moved to go help her when Naruto grabbed his arm. "They're her friends. Kind of. Technically, they're her sensei." He rubbed his neck. He wasn't about to forget that halberd.

"Shuriken? Really, bitch? You fight like a girl," the one with his hair tied in a short tail at the crown of his head taunted her as the bladed whip shot through the air and ripped the bo she had just summoned out of her hands right as she held it up to block the downswing of the halberd. Leaping to the side, she was hit by a well-placed kick to the jaw.

"Bad choice," the man with the braid told her. The huge blade swung at her midsection, leaving a thin line of blood.

"Damn it!" she swore.

The bladed whip snaked through the grass as a huge broadsword appeared in her hand. Shikamaru recognized it as the same type of weapon the slimmer man was using. She had called it Jakotsuto, the snake sword. A quick flick of her wrist caused the blade to separate and elongate into another bladed whip and she sent it in a parallel path to the first one, only in the opposite direction. At the same time, she threw a glowing kunai at the ground in front of the other man. When it hit, he was encased in a square pink barrier. Her bladed whip wrapped around the other man's arm just a second after his wrapped around her leg from her ankle to her knee. They stared at each other for a split-second and he grinned evilly before with just another quick movement of their wrists, they both whipped the blades in the opposite direction and ripped them away.

Naruto's eyes widened and he sprang forward when he saw the blood immediately start dripping down her leg from numerous cuts. "Shit!"

"You used the Jakotsuto? On _me?_ Oh, sweetie! All is forgiven," Jakotsu threw his arms around Kagome and hugged her, getting more blood on her shirt. "I guess you can't help it that nature has made you horribly disfigured."

"Yo! Nice reiki barrier, but that's cheating. Now let me out," Bankotsu smiled at her as he leaned on his halberd.

Frowning, she hobbled over and picked up the kunai, releasing the barrier. "It's not cheating. Use any and all weapons at your disposal, right?"

Naruto swept her up in his arms. "Look at your leg! Now you really need to go the hospital. You'll have to get that patched up."

"Hospital?" Bankotsu scoffed. "There's some water right over there." He pointed to the waterfall. "Wash it off and wrap it up. She doesn't have to worry about the scent of blood drawing demons here. From what I've heard, and seen, all the demon-related critters around here are more interested in naked tits. That's a nice set you've grown there, by the way," he winked at her.

"Bankotsu-sama!" Her face immediately turned red.

Naruto just stared at him. _Did he just call me a demon-related critter?_

"Oooooo! What do we have here?" Jakotsu looked at the group of men standing in the field. He elbowed Bankotsu in the ribs. "Quick! Wrap my arm while I fix my hair," he hissed. As soon as the bandage was tied off, he sauntered over toward them and Bankotsu tossed Kagome the roll of bandages. Naruto glared at him, but took her over by the waterfall so she could clean her leg.

"Very considerate of you to round up such a nice selection for me, Kagome," Jakotsu called out to her in a sing-song voice. "Different ages and builds for all occasions. You need to take your hair down, though," he pointed to Shikamaru. "Nobody wants to run their fingers through that. And _you_ need to lose the happuri—that is _so_ last century, though it does frame those big brown eyes rather nicely," he told Yamato.

Miroku and Shippou arrived in time to hear him and smirked at the stunned men standing there. "I see you've met Jakotsu and Bankotsu. They're two of the masters Kagome trained with. I don't believe _we've_ met, though," the kitsune looked at Jiraiya. "I'm Shippou and this is Miroku."

Stepping forward, the man proudly proclaimed, "I am one of the legendary Sannin." Spinning around, he swung his long, white hair up in the air. "I am the Great Toad Sage of Mt. Myoboku. Most people refer to me as … Jiraiya-sama." He waited for their reaction.

"Hmmm," Jakotsu looked him up and down. "_I_ prefer to be called 'sama' in my relationships, but I do try to keep an open mind about these things. You would have to prove yourself. I generally prefer the vigor and stamina of youth, but I won't discount the advantages of age and experience."

Jiraiya stared at him. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or horrified. This obviously brutal, yet feminine man was one of Naruto's fiancé's masters?

"Names, please? Though I won't promise to remember them. Goodness knows it's hard enough to remember my teammates sometimes, let alone my lovers."

Shippou pointed them out. "Nara Shikamaru, Yamato, and Hatake Kakashi."

"Ah! The copy nin! We've heard a bit about you recently in the Land of Waves, along with the husband there," Bankotsu nodded toward Naruto, who was carrying a protesting Kagome over to where the rest of them were gathered.

"Now _he_ is a fine specimen of mature masculinity, with the silvery hair and the rakish way he wears his headband over one eye," Jakotsu gushed as he stepped closer to Kakashi. Giving a sour look to the approaching jinchuriki, he turned to Bankotsu and declared, "I'll bet you'd never open Kagome's bedroom door to find _him_ latched on to her boobies."

Yamato choked and blinked rapidly.

Jiraiya's eyes widened and a huge grin spread across his face as he raised his brows and looked at Naruto and the girl he was carrying.

"Of course not. A ninja of his caliber would never be caught like that," Miroku declared with a wink.

Lips twitching under his mask, Kakashi gave Miroku an amused look before focusing on the couple. _I'm not even sure what part of that is more entertaining._

Shikamaru looked at them speculatively. He would have to confirm it with one of them, but perhaps the marriage issue had been settled? That would be a relief. Then all they would have to worry about was brazen attempts to abduct the bride from right within Konoha's borders. Sasuke may have finally gone too far for Lady Tsunade to continue to ignore him. He knew she was considering listing him in the bingo book now. He had to let Naruto know.

Kagome stopped arguing with Naruto and looked around at the others. _Why are they looking at us like that?_ She had an uneasy feeling that she didn't want to know why. "Put me down. I have to get ready to meet Lee for training soon."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Naruto just shook his head. "Nuh-uh."

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "You do realize Lady Tsunade is expecting you. After last night's events, she thought you would be in the hospital."

"Why does everyone want me to sleep in a hospital bed? They're very uncomfortable."

"How would you know? You haven't been in one yet," her fiancé glared at her.

"Well, I'm no expert on hospitals, never having been to one myself, but I kind of doubt they would let you do what_ you_ were doing there," Bankotsu said with a laugh.

Naruto and Kagome both turned red as everyone looked at them.

"Here. Let me see this seal that has everyone so concerned. I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to seals," Jiraiya said.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Higurashi Kagome. Put me down, Naruto."

"Yes, do put her down, Naruto. You can't keep such loveliness all to yourself, even if she _is_ your fiancé," he grinned at her a bit lasciviously. "I'm Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sage. I'm sure you've heard all about me."

"I couldn't possibly have heard _all_ about you, now could I? I'm sure a shinobi of your stature has had many more adventures than the ones your friends know about, Jiraiya-sama," she said with a smile.

"Gah! Don't flatter him or he'll never leave you alone! He's the biggest pervert in Konoha—maybe in the Five Great Nations!" Having just let her down, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back a couple of steps.

"Well, aren't we possessive?" Jiraiya quirked a brow at him as he took Kagome's hand. "Now my dear, let's just remove that shirt so I can see the seal."

"She doesn't need to take her shirt off!"

"Hmmm. Isn't that a different shirt than the one you had on a few minutes ago?" Bankotsu looked at her thoughtfully. "I could have sworn I cut the front of it right across your stomach."

"You did. And then Jakotsu-sama got blood all over it. So, Naruto gave me the shirt he had left here yesterday."

"Well then, she's already removed her shirt once. Besides, Konohamaru showed me his new sexy jutsu, so I've already seen everything. Nothing to be embarrassed about," the sannin grinned again.

"That little bastard! Well, he didn't get everything right!" the blond yelled.

"No, he didn't," Kakashi agreed.

"Hey!" Naruto glared at his sensei.

Shikamaru cast a surprised look at the copy nin, while Yamato turned his back to them. He was ashamed to admit he knew what they were referring to.

Even though her cheeks were pink, Kagome sighed and said, "I guess I'm going to have to have Konohamaru show me."

"Me, too!" Miroku nodded.

"A sexy jutsu? Sounds intriguing. I'm in," Bankotsu told them.

"If it has boobies, you can count me OUT," Jakotsu declared haughtily. "No one needs those things bouncing in their face like demon-possessed melons. No offense, Kagome, but I hope you tie those down properly."

Kagome covered her face with both hands.

"Now, now, Jakotsu. She should use every weapon in her arsenal. Too bad we didn't know she'd grow up to look like that or we could have given her some pointers—for using those _pointers_. Ha! Get it?"

"Hmph. If we'd known she would look like _that,_ she'd have ended up as Mukotsu's ninth wife. Or Renkotsu would have sold her off again, like he did right after Suikotsu brought her home."

Kagome dropped her hands and stared at them in astonishment. "_What?_ Renkotsu-sama _sold_ me to someone?"

"Suikotsu got you back," Bankotsu said nonchalantly. "Remember 'Uncle Tokajin?' He bought you to feed to a demon tree. Suikotsu killed him, then he beat the hell out of Renkotsu. He never did _that_ again." He laughed loudly.

_I didn't know …_ "I thought Renkotsu-sama liked me."

"He did. After you learned enough to start working with us and bring in some money. He let you blow up that witch's clay statue warriors when you were six, didn't he? He doesn't let just anybody mess with his explosives," Jakotsu assured her.

An ANBU member wearing a bear mask appeared in front of them. "You have all been summoned to the Hokage's office. Now."

"It's about time," Naruto muttered, picking Kagome up again. "Now you'll have to get that leg treated. And forget about training today."

"Put me down. I can walk."

"Nuh-uh."

"Hmph." She placed a glowing hand to the cut on his neck. "Jakotsu." She motioned the other man over and put her hand on his arm, healing the damage she had done there and then unwrapping the bandage. "I need to work more with Jakotsuto."

The man's face brightened and he smiled at her. "Yes, you do. You should have been able to get it all the way up to my shoulder, and I can show you how to extend it to the neck from there."

"Since you and Bankotsu are my masters, and you know me and my capabilities, you won't mind telling the Hokage I need to get on with my training, will you?"

"Hey!" Naruto narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "Cut that out!"

"What?" she looked at him innocently.

Most of the others smiled at them as they all headed for the Hokage Tower.

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi, Yamato, and Shikamaru, and asked quietly, "She healed his arm that rapidly with her reiki?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Genma had some broken ribs and a broken leg, and she healed them in just a couple of minutes, without depleting her chakra levels at all or using any of his chakra, either. But she can't heal her own injuries, though her body does heal at an accelerated rate."

"Very interesting, as are her weapons. I noticed she was able to summon different ones almost instantaneously. They're made of her reiki?"

"Yes. So if she were fighting a demon or even just someone with evil intent, one hit could turn them to dust. At least, that's what I've been told," the copy nin informed him.

"Hmmm," the Toad Sage thought about that. "So, she would have an unexpected advantage against certain members of the Akatsuki."

"I wouldn't suggest that in front of Naruto, if I were you," Yamato warned him with a smile.

A wide smile spread across the white-haired nin's face. "He does seem a bit protective of her, doesn't he?"

"He should be, considering she's the most troublesome woman in the world," Shikamaru grumbled.

…

"_**You**_ are, without a doubt, the most difficult guest we have ever had in Konoha!" Lady Tsunade shouted, pointing her finger at Kagome. "When shinobi I send on a mission are injured, or when anybody inside my village is attacked and injured, _they go to the hospital! _Naruto, take her over to the hospital _right now._ Shizune is waiting. I will be there momentarily. Shikamaru, make sure they get there this time even if you have to bind them in your shadow to do it."

"My lady, if I may …"

"No, you may not. Stop being so charming, monk. I've got my eye on you," she warned him.

"Feisty! Now _that's _a woman," Bankotsu declared. "And built! You see, Jakotsu, Kagome's ti…"

Miroku slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Hmph. I know what he was going to say. Too bouncy by far. Bouncy, bou …"

Shippou slapped a hand over Jakotsu's mouth. "If you'll excuse us, Lady Hokage, we'll just make sure our comrades are all settled into the accommodations you assigned them earlier and then show them around the village a bit."

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she dismissed them.

"Jiraiya and Kakashi, you're coming with me to examine that seal. Yamato, I want you to check in with the Barrier Team and see if they have discovered how the hell Uchiha Sasuke got in and just how they intend to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

"Kagome's comrades are quite interesting," Jiraiya commented as they walked along.

"Don't _you_ start."

"You might be happy to know that Naruto seems to be becoming very fond of her. Apparently, he spent the night with her at her place. So, your worries on that front may be over," Kakashi told her. "Also, she seemed to be in good form when those sensei of hers pulled a surprise attack a little while ago."

"They did _what?"_

"The leg injuries are fresh, not from last night's events with Sasuke."

'That's just great. I suppose she's going to expect to go train with them now."

The silver-haired nin smiled under his mask. "Yes, I believe she does. And they're not big on going to the hospital."

"Great. I'll have to assign Sakura or Ino to tend to her." Jiraiya held open the door as they entered the hospital.

Shizune waved at them from down the hall. "In here."

As they joined her, she told Tsunade, "I've already healed the injuries to her leg and the slash across her abdomen. Other than that, she seems fine."

"Okay, let's see the seal," the Hokage ordered.

Kagome was sitting on a hospital bed in a hospital-issued gown, which was tied in front as Shizune had instructed, with her arms crossed over her breasts and an irritated look on her face. This was completely unnecessary. There were seven other people in here, for gosh sakes! In addition to Naruto, Shikamaru, Shizune, and a medical nin whose name she never got, now Lady Tsunade, Kakashi, and Jiraiya were here. And Shizune had made her strip down and put on this stupid gown. They could have just moved the collar of the t-shirt she was wearing to look at her neck, but noooooo …

Naruto frowned as Kagome untied the top of the hospital gown and it fell off her shoulder. Her cheeks were pink as she held the front of the gown closed with one hand and removed the bandage over the seal with the other one.

No one said anything for a minute, then Jiraiya stepped closer to get a better look. "It's a …"

"It's a fucking uchiwa fan. Yeah," Naruto growled.

Shikamaru blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. Lady Tsunade had said Sasuke had bitten Kagome like Orochimaru had bitten him, but this was quite different. The fact that the seal was his clan symbol had to be significant.

There was a knock on the door heralding the arrival of Miroku and Shippou. "We left Bankotsu and Jakotsu at the ramen shop. We were curious what your seal expert would have to say," the monk said, with a small salute to Jiraiya.

_Seriously? Now there are __**nine**__ people gathered around this bed examining my neck? I thought patients were supposed to have some privacy in a hospital._

Tsunade sighed. It was getting crowded in here, but it was hard to throw out the nin from the Land of the Rising Sun. The Tsukikage had left them here to watch over the Enjo-sha. Diplomacy was a bitch. She signaled for the medical nin to leave. She and Shizune could handle any other medical issues the girl might have. She needed Jiraiya since he was the expert, and Kakashi since he had worked with Sasuke's seal. And if she didn't have Shikamaru already at her beck and call, she would have called Shikaku in to get his opinion. She sighed again. Obviously, there was no way she could throw Naruto out. "Well?" she asked Jiraiya.

The Toad Sage reached out and touched the seal, pressing gently. "Is it tender?"

"A little," she admitted.

Jiraiya leaned in so his face was scarce inches from her neck. "The placement seems very deliberate. I can barely see the punctures he made under the seal, but it looks like he hit the jugular vein with both fangs. I_ am_ assuming he elongated his teeth into fangs like Orochimaru does."

Kakashi stepped up and touched her neck, too. "I agree that the placement must have been deliberate. As you can see, it isn't in exactly the same place as the bite Orochimaru gave Sasuke." He touched a spot on the back of her neck. "Orochimaru bit more into the back side of Sasuke's neck and the seal formed even further back. _This_ seal," he touched the fan, "formed directly over the bite wound, which Sasuke placed more towards the front of her neck and as Jiraiya pointed out, hitting a major vein. The only reason the bleeding didn't turn into a problem is because his chakra sealed the wounds."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "The nine tails said Sasuke put a claim on her—that if he was a demon, that would be a mating mark. He said that in the past, some of the clans had formed relationships with youkai in order to obtain more power, and that's where the kekkai genkai came from, and some of the clans adopted some youkai customs."

Shippou nodded. "That's exactly where a demon would place a mating mark, but he would inject his youki, not chakra. The placement is significant because of the trust the mate is showing by allowing herself to be wounded where bleeding could be a severe, even life-threatening, issue. The youki serves a number of purposes. First of all, it _is_ a claim, and a warning to others not to mess with her. It also makes it possible for the demon to find his mate, no matter where she goes. It's like a security measure, so if she is ever lost or someone takes her away for whatever reason, he can track her through his own youki. One of the most important purposes of the mating mark is it makes sure the couple are compatible when it comes to having children, because if the couple have different types of youki, like say an elemental youkai and one with more animalistic characteristics, their youki would conflict and make conception impossible. It also tends to increase the chances of conception, kind of like the way the demon can track and find his mate, his sperm can track and find the …"

"We get the picture," Lady Tsunade said grimly. "But Sasuke doesn't have youki. So what does injecting his chakra that way and in that specific place, do?"

The kitsune shrugged. "I have no idea."

"The nine tails said he didn't know, either."

"Well … obviously, it still serves as a claim, of sorts. He did put an uchiwa fan on her, and everyone recognizes that as the Uchiha clan symbol," Shikamaru pointed out.

Jiraiya nodded. "And he probably _can_ track her through his own chakra. I'm sure that is one way Orochimaru keeps track of the people he has put a curse seal on."

"That's just fucking great. So, he thinks he can just get to her anytime he wants now," Naruto growled.

"Uh … actually, it probably does give him another advantage in that regard," Shippou said, rubbing the back of his neck a little nervously as Kagome gave him a questioning look. "Since you have his chakra flowing through your veins, he may be able to walk right through your barriers since your reiki will recognize it as not being foreign. I don't know that for sure, but it's possible. If so, _you_ can't keep him away from you."

"I threw him away from me by encasing him in a reiki sphere prison, which is a form of barrier, and propelling it through the air. I didn't have time to use chakra to do it," Kagome told them.

"Unfortunately, it's possible that it would work the same way for your chakra barriers, and it's possible he was able to escape from the sphere before it crashed when it either hit something or reached the edge of your range. We can test that," Miroku told them confidently. "You can make a barrier and see if Naruto can pass through it." When everyone just stared at him at him, he sighed. "She has Naruto's chakra sealed in her, too."

Jiraiya and Shikamaru immediately turned to stare at Naruto.

"Don't look at me like that—I didn't bite her! I'm not a damn vampire or some slimy snake!"

Kakashi thought for a minute before saying, "Naruto said the nine tails told him to use his chakra through _his_ mark to neutralize the pain Sasuke's chakra was causing her as it spread throughout her body and produced those red, flamelike markings. That didn't _eradicate_ Sasuke's chakra, because, well, chakra doesn't get rid of chakra, but yours made his recede, in a manner of speaking. I am guessing yours didn't have a painful effect on her like his because she was born with your mark—it wasn't forced on her. So your chakra was already _familiar_ to her."

Naruto stood there with his eyes almost closed as he processed what his sensei was saying. It kind of made sense.

Kagome's brow furrowed as she looked at him. "The nine tails told you what to do?"

"Yeah. He was the one who told me to let my chakra flow through my mark."

She blinked, then smiled. "He helped you. Well, actually, he helped _me, _when it didn't benefit him at all."

Naruto looked down at the floor. He wasn't going to tell her, and the others, that the nine tails had offered to help him get revenge on Sasuke. He knew that helping her was just more of the bijuu's manipulation, but they didn't need to know that. What her sensei had taught her made sense: use any and all weapons in your arsenal. The next time he faced Sasuke, he wasn't going to hold back.

Turning back to Kagome, Jiraiya said, "Show me this other mark."

Kagome looked down at the hospital gown. She couldn't think of a good way to expose the mark without exposing a lot more. Sighing, she lay back on the bed and turned onto her left side, trying to keep everything covered until she was settled. It wasn't easy to prop herself up on her left forearm and make sure the two halves of the grown were still covering her breasts while she pulled on the right side of the gown with her right hand so there was more of it falling over the front of her thighs. When she started to inch the gown up her hip, Naruto lost it.

"Gah!" He grabbed her hand. "He doesn't need to see it—he's just being a pervert!"

"Oh, but I really _do_ need to see it. Especially now," the white-haired nin grinned at him.

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade yelled. "Behave yourself. Naruto, we _do_ need to see it if it might give us some insight on that seal." She just hoped it wasn't too far up the girl's hip.

Frowning at everyone, Naruto moved to stand right next to Jiraiya on the side of the bed in front of her. Shikamaru moved to the other side of Naruto up by her face since he didn't need to examine the mark closely to help determine what it might tell them about Sasuke's seal. His job was to speculate about Sasuke's motives, and right now he was wondering how Sasuke knew about this youkai custom, even if the Uchiha had practiced it a long time ago. He would have to talk to his father, but if Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya were unaware of it, then it wasn't common knowledge in the village long before Sasuke grew up. And he was still very young when his clan was wiped out, so he doubted Sasuke had learned of it from his parents before they died. It was very troublesome.

Tsunade stood on the other side of Jiraiya for two reasons: 1. To get a good look at the seal, and 2. To keep Jiraiya from any funny business. She felt a little sorry for the embarrassment the poor girl was probably feeling, but it couldn't be helped.

Shizune stood on the other side of the bed across from Tsunade next to Kakashi, while Shippou and Miroku stood on the other side of him. Kagome was beginning to feel like some kind of science exhibit.

"I feel like there should be a drum roll and perhaps some kind of magical incantation," she said, with a wry smile on her red face.

"How about 'Presto Exposo?' Would that do?" Miroku asked with a grin.

"No, no! I've got it!" Shippou told him. "Abracadabra, Alacazeeze, let's see some ass along with the hip, please."

Kagome blinked. _Not at all what I was thinking. I need to hang out with more women._ Then she looked at Tsunade and saw she had her eyes closed and was covering her mouth with her hand. _Great. Even the Hokage thinks they're funny. _

She didn't want to move the gown up too quickly or she wouldn't have any control on how much skin she could possibly keep covered, but she didn't want to do it too slowly, either, because she wanted to get this over with. Now. She had to look down at her hip because she wasn't sure exactly how far up she had to go. The mark was practically at the top of her hip. She had never paid any attention to the mark at all before she found out she should have been the Enjo-sha. Looking down now, she didn't see any way to keep her backside covered if she was going to make sure she was covered in front. _Obviously, Shippou had figured that out. Fine then, just do it._

As she lifted the gown further, finally unveiling part of the clan symbol, she made sure to move the material so it bunched up in front of her.

"Kagome-sama, have I ever told you that I thank Buddha daily for allowing me to share your journeys with the Band of Five?"

"That would be really sweet, Miroku, if you weren't staring at my ass right now."

When the mark was completely uncovered, she tugged a little more of the gown's material down in the front and leaned forward a bit so she could see if she was completely covered. She had already given up on covering anything in the back. But when she leaned forward, her torso pulled on the left side of the gown since some of it was trapped underneath her, and while Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi had all leaned forward to study the mark, Shikamaru got a birdseye view of an unwittingly exposed left breast.

He knew he should look away, but he couldn't even blink. He had seen many sides to her from the very start. She had been compassionate and generous at the expense of her own pride to go to bat for Naruto, and the rest of them, after his unintentionally insulting outburst when they first arrived. He had heard from Miroku how she had worked hard from an early age to make her own way as a shinobi, then was forced to begin all over again as a priestess and the Enjo-sha, yet she had accepted the responsibilities and exerted herself to be worthy of the title, giving up her own plans for the future, as he later found out. She had displayed wit in her subtle rebuke of the greeting she received in her choice of clothing when she returned, and she had let Naruto off the hook again by following him to watch him train instead of making him show her around the village.

She had been a fantasy goddess that first night he saw her at the waterfall, and then later he had seen her as an earthy, _real_ woman of flesh and blood and hopes for love, once again feeling umbrage on Naruto's behalf for him being forced to marry her. She was kind and she made friends easily, and she was stubborn and willful, yet hard to go against. Her friends were some of the biggest perverts he'd ever met, yet she was charmingly innocent and her cheeks were pink a lot of the time.

She was bold and unflappable facing off with Sasuke in that cave, and as he thought back over the whole encounter now, he realized she could have used the Jakotsuto to advantage against the sharingan, and possibly even done some serious damage to him, but had only pulled it out as a last resort. He wondered if it was a reluctance to use that particularly brutal weapon or if she had done what Naruto always did and held back because of who he was. He knew Naruto had no desire to kill Sasuke. He wanted to redeem him. And Kagome knew that. She had promised him she would let him fight his own battles, and she knew Sasuke was one of his biggest battles. When she was injured, she had been foolishly determined to walk back into Konoha instead of letting him carry her in, and she had talked him into letting her go to report in and then he given in to her determination to go see Naruto. She saw all of her fiance's good qualities and helped everyone else see them, too. And from what he had seen and heard, she was winning Naruto over. Which was a good thing for all of them.

But ... Looking at her right now, in a hospital bed, in a hospital gown, with her long, dark hair spilling over her shoulder across the bed in front of her and with some of it falling over the edge, he realized he still couldn't look away. He should, but he couldn't, even though her pale cheeks were suffused with color because she was embarrassed to have to expose her hip to intense scrutiny, and she didn't even realize she had just killed all the joy he had taken from Konohamaru's sexy jutsu and the resulting wet dreams because it just didn't compare to the real thing. And he didn't mean just the particular detail the genin had gotten wrong which had just been revealed to him, although he had to admit, he _still_ couldn't look away, and he was beginning to wonder why no one else had noticed yet.

He was a normal, healthy guy who appreciated the beauty and appeal of the female form as much as the next guy, but he had never realized how incredibly erotic and completely mesmerizing and utterly _fascinating_ the sight of one full and obviously firm, pale breast could be when crowned with an unexpectedly dark, sable areola and nipple instead of the pale pink he had been led to expect. It really looked like the perfect size, too—as Shippou had told Kiba, big, but not _too_ big and _definitely_ not too small. He was going to see that every time he closed his eyes now. Could she be any more troublesome? He really hoped Naruto realized that he was the luckiest guy in Konoha. But, just in case he didn't, and he decided not to marry her, he briefly wondered if the Nara clan could raise enough to pay the penalty and take over the contract?

He finally blinked and put his hand up to his chin to make sure his mouth was closed. He really couldn't just continue to stand here and stare at her, though. Could he? No, of course not. So, sighing to himself, he reached out to move her gown back into place.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Naruto yelled, startling him so his hand missed the gown and his fingers latched onto … something else.

Everyone in the room stared at him and the girl who let out a surprised "Eep!" as she quickly pulled the sides of the gown together over her breasts, which made her drop it where she was holding it lower down her body. Naruto reached down and grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed and threw it over her, even covering her head.

"That's it! We're done! Everybody out!" he jerked his thumb in the direction of the door. "I'll talk to _you_ later, at the field," he told Shikamaru, whose face was as red as Kagome's had been.

Surprisingly enough, they all filed out without a word, though there were smiles on most of their faces.

"It's always the quiet ones," Shippou whispered loudly, shaking his head and making a little "tch, tch" sound at Shikamaru.

Uncovering her head and sitting up, Kagome looked at Naruto's stiff posture as he faced the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "My hero," she smiled as he turned around to face her.

"Gah!" He threw his arms up in frustration.

She patted the bed beside her and wrapped her arms around him when he sat down, but he just sat there with his shoulders hunched over. She couldn't tell if he was angry or sulking, so she scooted back a little and started rubbing his back and shoulders.

He started muttering to himself. "When you can't even trust Shikamaru …"

"Oh, stop that," she hit his arm lightly. "You know as well as I do that he must have seen this stupid gown gape open and he was going to close it instead of saying something so he wouldn't draw anyone else's attention to it." She sighed and leaned back against the head of the bed and pulled the blanket up to her neck. "I can't believe this whole morning. Can we just go back to sleep and try again tomorrow?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "It's been crazy, hasn't it?" He scooted back and put his arm around her to pull her to his chest. Tipping her chin up with his other hand, he leaned in to kiss her when one of the hospital workers walked in and started fussing at them.

"This is a hospital. We don't allow any of that hanky-panky here," she scowled at them. "Only one person per bed. Get out of there," she told Naruto.

"_You_ get out of here. Out!" He stood up and she ran out the door.

Kagome giggled. "You scared her."

"Yeah, well, I got rid of her, didn't I?"

She got up and hugged him. "I'm really glad you're here. It's so nice to have someone around who can be as rude as he likes, since I can't because I'm a guest and I have to be polite. You do realize you threw your Hokage out of here, don't you?"

He grinned down at her. "I'm going to hear about that later, I'm sure."

Kagome told him, "I'm going to get dressed now. Maybe we can finally get on with our plans for the day. I hope someone told Lee why I didn't show up this morning." Picking up her folded clothes from the chair she had set them on earlier, she headed into the bathroom.

Frowning, Naruto said, "I'm sure that closet pervert, Shikamaru, did."

"Come on now, you know that was an accident and he was as embarrassed as I was about it. Shikamaru wouldn't do something like that on purpose—he's your friend, and I feel like he's my friend, too. And unlike my _other_ friends, who were having a great laugh at my expense because I had to let the world see my … rear assets, I don't think he's a pervert."

"Yeah, well, I never would have thought Sasuke would do something like _he_ did, either."

She came out and tossed the hospital gown on the bed, then walked over to him and put her arms around him again. He noticed she had covered the seal on her neck with another bandage, and he was grateful. "I think Sasuke is trying to work something out. Maybe something has changed and he's confused. He said he's going to kill Orochimaru before he faces his brother. He also said he's willing to fight _you_ before his brother, but if he loses to _you,_ then he knows he has to come back here, right? He said it was his duty to avenge his clan, and that killing Itachi is the only way he can reclaim his honor, but I think he is beginning to realize that you are right, and he didn't have to isolate himself from all of you to do that. I think … he's lonely, and he misses you and his other friends."

_I hope you're wrong. I hope he isn't lonely. Because even if he comes back here, he can't have you. _

…

When they reached the field, the only ones there were Kakashi, Yamato, and Shikamaru. Shikamaru walked up to Naruto. "I guess you're wanting to fight, huh?"

"Yeah, I want to kick your ass, and maybe a few others around here. But I really want to kick Sasuke's ass. So, I'm going over there to kick that waterfall's ass. Just keep your hands to yourself and try not to be a bigger pervert than her other friends, okay?"

Shikamaru nodded with a small, wry smile. "Heh. Okay."

Watching Naruto head to the waterfall, Kagome sat down and said, "He knew it was an accident. He was just …"

"Jealous? Outraged? Furious? Out for my head, or at least my blood? All perfectly understandable, under the circumstances." _I __**did**__ touch his fiancé's breast, after all. After staring at it for way too long._ Not that he was going to admit to **that**, though. He wasn't stupid.

Color rose in her cheeks. "Don't be silly. It startled him because it was so unexpected." She paused, then asked, "Do you think he was jealous?"

"Of course." He looked at her speculatively. "Do you want him to be jealous?"

"No, of course I don't. But …" she looked down at the ground a bit awkwardly. "I've never had anyone feel that way about me. It's a bit flattering. That's wrong of me, isn't it?"

"I'd say it's normal." He sat down next to her. _She really doesn't seem to be the least bit aware of how appealing she is._ "You two seem to be getting along quite well. Is everything settled?"

"You're asking if he's going to honor the contract?" She looked away. "I don't know."

"Really?" He raised a brow in surprise. "I thought perhaps you had come to an understanding last night."

"Uh, no." She glanced at him briefly, then looked back down at the ground.

He could see she was uncomfortable with the subject, but it was rather important. And he was curious. "Your relationship does seem to be … progressing."

Her cheeks pinkened again. "Yes," she admitted.

"And he seems to be growing very _possessive_ of you."

She sighed at that and drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Yes, but that's not necessarily an indication that he's developing any real _feelings_ for me. I've become one of his obligations—a rather _troublesome_ one at that," she gave him a brief, humorless smile, "and he thinks he has to take care of me. I'm supposed to help him, not burden him. And Sasuke …" her voice trailed off.

Now his curiosity was _really_ piqued. He tilted his head and examined her face closely. "Sasuke?"

"Well, both times he seemed to indicate that Naruto would be more interested in me if he thought Sasuke was interested in me. But that wouldn't be an indication of any real feelings—that would simply be competitiveness with his rival."

_And you have obviously developed real feelings for Naruto. _

"So, you think Sasuke bit you, and gave you that mark, just to needle Naruto. And you think it did."

"Well … maybe," she admitted.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed in thought. _Unfortunately, she could be right. I suspect his rivalry with Sasuke is what fueled his interest in Sakura for so long. Sasuke really knows how to manipulate him._

"Did he say anything else?"

"Oh, yes. He actually talked for a long time about a lot of things. It really makes me feel inept and embarrassed that I couldn't get away from him in all that time, but he kept such a tight grip, even when I managed to throw us backwards and under the water, that I couldn't get a hand free until after he bit me." The muscle in her jaw tightened and she clenched her fists. "That's twice I let him get the drop on me. I have become too much of a priestess these last three years and not enough of a shinobi. I can't let that happen again."

He blinked. He hadn't tried to imagine exactly how Sasuke had managed to bite her, but he definitely hadn't envisioned the possibility that he had been holding on to her, in the water_,_ while she was naked, and had a long conversation with her like that before getting around to biting her. He couldn't imagine Sasuke having a long conversation with anyone, and he didn't want to think about him holding her naked body while he was doing it. _Naruto really needs to kick his ass._

"What did he talk about?"

"He said no one here really knew him. Except Naruto, of course. That no one understands about duty and honor and why he has to kill Itachi. He feels it's his duty to avenge his clan, and that Itachi stole his honor by leaving him alive. And he can't be a true shinobi without honor. I don't think he feels like he can have a real life until he restores that honor by proving he is stronger than his brother because he feels like he doesn't deserve one.

He told me that as the Enjo-sha, I'm just a tool for my village, but I told him that's _my_ duty and that my honor is at stake in performing my duty to the best of my ability, and I think he wishes he could feel a connection to Konoha like that. I think he is regretting leaving all of his friends here.

He told me what Orochimaru wants me for and said he wouldn't let him get me. He says Orochimaru can't help him anymore and he plans to kill him. Before going after his brother."

"He said he wouldn't let Orochimaru get you?"

"Yes. He doesn't want him to use me to revitalize himself before he kills him."

_Sasuke talked about all of that with her?_ "He talked about you being the Enjo-sha?"

"Yes."

"He talked about his brother, and about duty and honor."

She nodded.

"He talked about killing Orochimaru."

She nodded again.

"He said no one in Konoha really knew him."

"Yes."

_Just how long was he holding on to her anyway?_

"What was he talking about right before he bit you?"

She thought for a minute. "Um, well, he compared Naruto to Akamaru, and I accused him of being envious of how Naruto gets along with everyone. And he said …"

Shikamaru cleared his throat to cover the laugh that welled up when she said Sasuke compared Naruto to Akamaru and focused on what she was saying next. Or rather, what she _wasn't_ saying next. "Yes?" he prompted.

"He said the mark on my hip was the only thing he was envious of Naruto for."

_Of course he saw the mark on her hip._ "So, he decided to make his own mark and bit you."

"Um, yeah, maybe. I mean, I tried to change the subject because it felt too … intimate. So, he asked a few questions about why no one knew I should have been the Enjo-sha all along. He didn't bite me until after he kissed me and I told him I wouldn't tell Naruto he did that."

Shikamaru blinked again. "He kissed you? Again?"

"Yes, but it was different."

"How was it different?"

"It didn't feel like he was searching for something this time."

_No, because he thinks he found it. I don't know what Naruto's feelings are, but I'm beginning to think he'd better figure it out soon. If Sasuke is sneaking into Konoha to __**talk**__ to Kagome, and __**kissing**__ her, and placing some kind of youkai claim on her, then Naruto needs to get his ass in gear and make up his mind._ He looked at her and saw how she was watching Naruto up on the bridge. _And he needs to let her know, because_ s_he may have come here due to her own sense of duty and honor, but she is offering him a lot more than that._

A shout from the bridge drew their attention, and she jumped to her feet. Naruto laughed and dispelled all of his clones. Then he leaned into the waterfall again and cut off the flow of water directly in front of him. Then increasing the flow of his chakra in a contained line he applied his wind nature to it until it ran the entire length of the massive waterfall and shut off the flow of water completely.

"He did it!" Yamato shouted.

Kakashi leapt up onto the bridge beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Well done."

Naruto stood up and gave him a cocky smile. "What's next?"

"Well, if I were you, I'd let my adoring fiancé fawn over me for a bit, then possibly have some lunch and take a nap. You're going to need all of your strength to begin working on the last step later this afternoon."

The blond looked down at the girl who was standing by the water smiling up at him. _Adoring fiancé, huh?_ He liked the sound of that. Jumping down, he picked her up and spun her around in a circle. "Not bad, huh?" he grinned.

"Amazing!" She hugged him. "I can't even imagine the amount of strength it had to take to control so much chakra and apply your wind nature to it to cut that entire waterfall! You must be exhausted. Sit down and I'll get you something to drink."

"I'm fine," he told her, but he sat down anyway.

"Impressive," Shikamaru said as he strolled over to join them. "That kind of nature manipulation and the amount of control you just exhibited have a lot of possibilities, though I understand you are focusing on a particular technique you want to perfect."

"Why did you dispel the shadow clones?" Yamato asked him.

"Well, I finally got it, and I wanted to see if I had enough control to make it travel out to the sides in a line like that instead of just directly in front of me."

"As a jinchuriki, precise chakra control is probably the most essential skill to master. And as a jinchuriki, it's also one of the most difficult," Kakashi told him with a nod.

"Yo! Kagome! What are you sitting around for? Miroku said you had plans to spar with a couple of the other shinobi today. And if you want Jakotsu to give you some tips on the Jakotsuto, you'd better get them while you can. We can't stay long."

"Bankotsu-sama, you just missed an amazing display of chakra control and nature manipulation! Naruto …"

"I saw. So did a lot of people. That ridiculously huge waterfall can be seen from some distance away, depending on your vantage point, you know. Nice work, kid. Fine-tune the sharpness of that wind and you might be able to bisect an opponent with it."

Kakashi eyed him warily. _Well, that's an … interesting possibility. These latest Rising Sun nin certainly have a savage mindset. I suppose that could be the result of being surrounded by demons. Or perhaps they __**are**__ demons. Maybe I'll ask Miroku later._

"Anyway, I'll give you a five-second headstart."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Now?"

"One."

She touched Naruto's arm. "Promise you'll eat something and rest, okay?"

"Two."

"I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Three."

She was gone.

"Heh! Five!"

With a puff of smoke, Bankotsu was gone, too.

"Hey! You skipped four!" Naruto protested.

"I get the feeling they don't follow rules very strictly," Kakashi remarked dryly.

Shikamaru tilted his head and stared at the spot where Kagome had been standing.

"What is it?" the copy nin asked him.

"I didn't see her flicker. He used smoke, but she just vanished."

"He's right," Yamato said.

Naruto's brow furrowed. "Yeah. I've seen her flicker before. She didn't use smoke or leaves or anything, and she was quick, but I could see her."

Kakashi nodded. "I've seen her flicker, too. And she didn't use anything to disguise her movements. I didn't think about it at the time because it was after she spoke to Sai and she was a bit upset. Perhaps normally she's quick enough that she usually doesn't need to use any distraction, but she's been out of practice."

"She said she had become too much of a priestess and not enough of a shinobi these last three years. I have a feeling she's planning to fix that. Especially since she thinks she's just another obligation to you," Shikamaru told the blond.

"What?"

"It wasn't obligation that made you want to kick my ass earlier, was it?"

"I wouldn't remind me, if I were you," Naruto glared at him.

"Good. We should get something to eat. You promised her you would."

…

"Again!"

The pink bladed whip went whistling through the air before dropping straight down and snaking off to the right to wrap around an ankle.

"Pitiful! You're using too much wrist. Your movement is too big and the change in direction is too slow. That's why it didn't climb. Use a fingertip touch to guide it, like this."

Another bladed whip made the same move in the opposite direction, but when it dropped down and snaked off to the right, it jumped back out of the grass and spun around an ankle and circled a leg all the way to the thigh.

Kagome winced as Jakotsu retracted the blades of Jakotsuto, but called hers back, too.

"Again!"

She leaped forward and then rolled to the left, sending the pink bladed whip back toward her master.

A halberd split a tree trunk, sending several birds noisily into the air. Their angry caws echoed in the meadow as they flew away. Bankotsu frowned as he watched them. Walking over to the young, dark-haired man with the white, opaque eyes who had sparred with Kagome earlier, he quietly said, "Get your ANBU."

Outside the outer walls, a single figure stood patiently facing the village. Red eyes glanced heavenward as a bird flew overhead. Then he slowly walked away and melted into the shadows of the forest.

…

End Chapter 8

*A/N: Well, that chapter did NOT go as planned. It took a lot of twists and turns right from the first sentence that were not part of my original plan for this story, and it chewed me up and spit me out a million times. Sasuke didn't plan to interact with Kagome, and_ I_ certainly didn't plan for him to. He wasn't supposed to be back for at least another chapter. I had him drop the yellow daffodil by Miroku at the end of the last chapter as his message of admiration for her. But he wouldn't leave. And then he took a page from Orochimaru's book and bit her. I don't know where that came from because that was never in my plans, either. But since Sasuke did end up following in Orochimaru's footsteps so much with the snakes and all, I decided he just might decide to try his own version of a curse mark and seal. And I did like the opportunity it gave me to have the nine-tailed beast try to manipulate Naruto into using his power. And yes, I know I monkeyed with the canon account of Naruto cutting the waterfall. We are officially outside of Kishimoto and Takahashi territory. ^_^

When Shippou came up his magic incantation, I was so tempted to have Kagome follow up with "Eenie, meenie, magic beanie, let's see Shippou's little …" But I decided Kagome wouldn't say something like that. Trying to stay true to character can be such a drag. ^_^

When all was said and done, this monstrosity ran 58 pages long. So, I cut three of them. (This is after I cut about five other pages while writing.) Once I resigned myself to going ahead and writing another Sasuke and Kagome encounter this soon, and decided to keep in the curse seal/mating mark bite, I was already ten pages in. It took me another ten pages to get Naruto into spooning position. _That_ scene _was_ in my plans for this chapter, along with the appearance of Bankotsu and Jakotsu. Everyone crowding into the hospital room? Not so much. Shikamaru ending up with a handful of Kagome? Definitely not. Ending the chapter in similar fashion to the previous one with a mysterious, red-eyed character lurking about? Oh, yes. ^_^ Let's see if I can keep the rest of this story on track now.

Thanks again to everyone who bothers to read this! And thanks even more to those who take the time to send me some encouragement or criticism! Not going to lie, this story has been the most difficult thing for me to write because I am second-guessing myself the whole way. (If you knew how Sakura tried to blow up this chapter ... I told you I cut at least five other pages.) I think I love way too many of these characters, and I want them all to spend some time in the sun, and they just all want to misbehave and make me look bad. Gah! Once again, I am forcing myself to go ahead and post this because I'm afraid I would hit delete and start over if I don't.


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